?7n 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 


THE  STATUE  IN  THE  AIR 


Clie  ^tatue  in  t^e 
ty?  Caroline  Caton 
He  Conte 

I 


New  York 
The   Macmillan   Company 

London:  Macmillan  &  Co.,  Ltd. 
1897 


COPYRIGHT,  1897, 
BY  CAROLINE  EATON  LE  CONTE. 

All  rights  reserved. 


Norfooofc 

Berwick  &  Smith,  Norwood,  Musi.,  U.S.A. 


Statue  fn  tlje  Sir 


AN  elder  and  a  younger  chorus  were 
chanting  as  night  descended  over  the 
valley  of  Callithera  ;  the  elder  armed, 
the  younger  garlanded  with  flowers, 
they  stood  before  the  light,  aspiring 
columns  of  a  palace,  and  lifted  their 
eyes  toward  that  region  no  language 
may  describe.  There  among  the  steep, 
dreadful  crags  —  drenched  by  wander 
ing  rains  and  vapors,  or  bare  to  the 
ghastly  light  of  the  moon  —  lay  a  pro 
digious  magical  chasm,  encircled  in 
granite  that  rings  like  iron  under  heel, 
where  to  the  north  Arcturus  drives  the 
giant  stars.  Higher  than  this  tract  the 
mountains  rose  in  everlasting  ice  ;  be 
low  it,  sank  through  a  hoarse  gorge  to 


IL be  Statue  in  t&r 


this  fertile  valley.  One  could  hardly 
imagine  loveliness  so  close  to  horror. 

Therefore  the  chorus,  chanting  sol 
emnly,  exalted  Heaven,  because  the 
time  was  now  so  near  when  their  valley 
should  be  delivered  from  the  spell  of 
that  tremendous  chasm.  Having  fin 
ished  their  chant,  they  were  preparing 
to  march,  when  a  man  in  haste  came 
running  between  the  lines. 

"Tell  Heliophanes  the  shepherds 
who  went  to-day  into  the  mountains 
have  not  returned." 

A  few  inarticulate  cries  ;  and  out  of 
the  deep  hush  the  leader  spoke  fer 
vently  :  — 

"Pray  heaven  they  have  not  fallen 
into  the  abyss." 

"  A  foreigner  went  with  them." 

"  Who  was  the  foreigner  ? " 

"Botas,  the  herdsman,  the  foster- 
brother  of  Heliophanes.  He  says  at 
a  certain  point  our  countrymen  took 
one  way  through  the  crags,  he  an 
other  ;  when  he  had  reached  the  place 
for  meeting  —  ah,  they  had  vanished 
as  people  walk  away  in  a  dream." 

"  Ah !  "  cried  one  man  bitterly ;  "  al- 


Oc  Statue  in  tbe  .31  tr 


ways  so.  Aliens  escape  ;  our  unfortunate 
countrymen  are  dragged  down  into  the 
abyss." 

Another  gestured  vehemently.  "  But 
not  for  long !  Heliophanes  himself  will 
tell  us  to-night  the  exact  day  on  which 
we  shall  close  that  cursed  chasm." 

But  the  leader,  who  had  turned  sor 
rowfully  apart,  now  wheeled  with  an 
emphatic  gesture.  "  Silence !  And 
not  a  word  of  this  to  Heliophanes. 
For  why  should  we  distress  that  holiest 
prophet  upon  the  verge  of  victory  ?  If, 
indeed,  our  countrymen  have  fallen  into 
the  chasm,  yet  it  is  by  no  means  cer 
tain  they  have  died.  Many  return  out 
of  it,  even  though  with  shame.  So  up 
with  your  torches,  and  be  quick.  This 
night  for  work,  not  for  wailing,  —  to 
Heliophanes' ! " 

"  To    Heliophanes' !  "     echoed    the 
chorus :   a  flute   sounded   softly  :  and 
all  moved  away  into  the  giant  gloom. 
3 


"  O  BE  thankful  to  the  gods !  I  tell 
you  now  not  in  promise  only,  but  in 
very  fact,  the  day  approaches  wherein 
we  shall  vanquish  those  dark  Powers ; 
Troglodytes  shall  be  slain  ;  yes,  very 
soon  we  ourselves  shall  block  that  mur 
derous  chasm.  For  it  is  Troglodytes 
alone  that  all  these  ages  has  held  it 
open  ;  were  he  dead,  many  a  glorious 
thing  would  happen.  Our  dear  Guar 
dian,  Immortal  Eros,  might  return  to 
us  ;  also  Euphorion  his  son  would  leave 
Eucarpia  to  dwell  with  us  always." 

Thus  Heliophanes  addressed  the 
chorus  in  a  deep,  trembling  voice. 
Younger  and  elder,  these  men  stood 
with  lowered  foreheads  and  extin 
guished  torches  at  the  base  of  the  ir 
regular  crags  that  bound  the  valley. 
Behind  them  lay  a  pool,  near  which 
grew  an  apple-tree ;  above,  at  two  spears' 
length,  was  a  terrace  circled  by  a  rock 
parapet  and  bearing  the  house  of  the 
4 


H>tattte  in  tljc  2lir 


old  prophet.  But  Heliophanes  himself 
stood  beside  the  parapet,  his  torch  shin 
ing  with  the  calm  radiance  of  a  star  ; 
then  his  melodious  voice  disturbed  the 
twilight. 

"  Now  you  all  know  that  I  was  my 
self  in  Eucarpia,  dwelling  among  aliens, 
with  Botas  and  Euphorion  and  my 
daughter  Leanira,  when  that  amazing 
vision  fell  upon  my  soul.  You  know 
how  it  summoned  me  to  be  your  pro 
phet  ;  how  it  revealed  to  me  the  com 
ing  of  a  deliverer,  who  should  slay 
Troglodytes ;  and  bade  me  seek  the 
confirmation  at  the  Cave  of  Love." 

A  voice  out  of  the  chorus  spoke  with 
deep  piety :  "  How  well  I  remember 
that  festival  day  you  arrived.  The  pal 
ace  was  all  decked  with  apple-boughs 
—  a  good  omen." 

Heliophanes  replied  gently  :  "So  I 
thought  also  when  I  saw  the  sacred 
flower.  Yet  you  did  not  believe  me 
until  I  took  you  to  the  Cave  of  Love 
and  unearthed  a  stone  whereon  was 
carved  the  oracle.  Who  of  you  now 
recall  it  ?  " 

Several  voices  eagerly  :  "When  a 
5 


IL  be  t-tntuc  in  tbc  Sir 


prophet,  the  father  of  one  daughter,  has 
a  vision,  and  when  in  accordance  with 
his  vision  the  Hero  steps  to  the  pool, 
and  plucks  from  its  bosom  the  sacred 
flower,  and  the  same  day  arrives  in  the 
palace  a  five-year-old  child,  the  statue 
of  Eros,  —  that  very  day  Troglodytes 
is  slain,  and  the  chasm  closed  for 
ever." 

"  Ah ! "  exclaimed  Heliophanes,  "  the 
very  words.  When  the  necessity  comes 
you  will  act  promptly.  But  hear  what 
follows.  I,  of  course,  sent  to  Eucar- 
pia  to  order  the  carving  of  the  sacred 
statue,  intrusting  the  matter  to  Botas. 
Thus  ten  years  passed ;  —  and  now  the 
final  vision." 

On  the  part  of  the  chorus  a  move 
ment  of  anticipation,  a  subdued  clash 
ing  of  arms. 

"  A  month  ago,  and  at  dawn,  I 
dreamed  I  was  standing  beside  yonder 
apple-tree ;  upon  the  pool  floated  a 
spray  cut  by  my  own  hand  ;  up  rose  the 
joyful  sun  ;  forth  stepped  the  Cham 
pion  !  But  I  could  not  discern  his  face, 
he  was  so  involved  in  a  golden  nimbus 
like  a  god  However,  as  soon  as  I 
6 


iL  be  Statue  in  tfje  3Ur 


awoke  I  sent  to  Eucarpia  to  obtain  the 
sacred  statue.  Betas  had  already  come 
hither  to  sell  one  of  his  flocks.  There 
fore  I  wrote  Euphorion  that  he  place 
the  statue  on  board  our  ship  with  his 
own  hands.  Also  the  vision  told  me 
the  exact  day." 

"  The  day !  the  day  !  "  in  a  clamor 
ous  whisper. 

"That  day,"  said  Heliophanes,  "is 
to-morrow." 

A  vivid  movement  ran  along  the 
chorus.  Man  by  man,  turning  with  a 
mysterious  shudder,  gazed  at  the  pool. 
There  under  the  sacred  tree  was  an 
altar,  and  upon  the  altar  a  sacrificial 
knife. 

"Behold  the  day!"  cried  Helio 
phanes.  "  A  fit  entrance  for  Troglody 
tes'  conqueror  is  the  first  day  of  the 
festival  in  honor  of  Eros."  Then, 
raising  his  hand,  "  Be  all  done  in 
accordance  with  the  oracle.  You,  the 
elder,  immediately  to  the  temple.  Hold 
watch  until  shortly  before  dawn,  then 
return  to  my  house.  You,  the  younger, 
straightway  to  the  palace  —  adorn  it. 
In  the  morning  you  receive  the  oracled 
7 


Statue  in  t&c  9U 


statue.  Last  of  all,  we  older  ones,  when 
that  Hero  has  gone  down  into  the 
abyss,  we  meet  you  at  the  palace,  and 
all  together  bear  the  sacred  statue  to 
the  Cave  of  Love.  One  more  word. 
Botas,  my  dear  foster-brother,  is  now 
in  the  valley.  He  has  been  to  us  of 
incalculable  service.  I  would  be  glad 
if  to-morrow  he  were  received  in  our 
number  as  a  son  of  the  valley." 

The  -chorus  answered  with  a  multi 
tude  of  voices  :  "  We  also  would  be 
glad;  Botas  is  most  welcome." 

"I  have  finished.  Friends,  let  all 
be  done  quietly  and  with  reverence." 

A  slender  boy  had  received  Helio- 
phanes'  torch :  one  by  one  the  torches 
of  each  company  blossomed  into  flame  ; 
the  men  chanted,  divided,  marched,  and 
countermarched ;  and  still  chanting, 
went  off  to  right  and  left,  the  flames 
disappearing  like  sparks  into  the  dark 
ness. 

When  all  was  silent,  Heliophanes, 
leaning  over  the  parapet,  said  :  "  Bo- 

ta*  "  — 

Ldoj 

Out  of  a  dark  hollow  a  man  emerged, 
and  swung  himself  promptly  to  the 


Cfjc  &tattie  in  tfce 


terrace.  Si^ie  by  side  he  entered  with 
the  prophet  into  the  ray  of  light  that 
fell  through  the  open  door  of  the 
house,  drew  a  letter  from  his  bosom, 
and  read  excitedly :  "  'Come  to  me,  my 
dear  brother.  I  have  urgent  need  of 
you.  At  nightfall  be  privately  at  my 
house.  Hide  in  some  bushy  cleft  below 
the  parapet.  The  gods  have  decreed 
that  to  you  alone  of  all  aliens  shall  be 
revealed  the  dreadful,  immemorial  secret 
of  our  valley.' ' 

"Your  writing,  Heliophanes  ?  " 

"Mine." 

"By   heaven,   when   I   read   that   I        t     ^ 
doubted  it,  —  or  thought  you  mad."       "uQ    ^  ( 

"  Hush  !  Leanira  is  asleep !     So  you        <  __L 
would  have  thought  me  raving  had  I  ;  „ 

revealed  all  this  in  secret ;  therefore  I         Ct 
told  it  to  you  in  the  presence  of  the 
chorus,  every  one  of  these  men  bearing 
witness  to  my  word." 

"  I  am  thunderstruck  !  And  Eupho- 
rion,  the  son  of  a  god  !  " 

"  Softer  yet  —  remember !  —  my 
child  !  O,  I  would  have  left  her  with 
you  at  Eucarpia,  but  she  wept  so  my 
heart  was  torn.  Here  I  have  been 


Statue  in  t&e  SUr 


obliged  to  guard  her,  that  never  a  whis- 
/  per  reach  her  of  that  horrible  abyss.  Be 
lieve  me,  you  are  the  first  foreigner  to 
know  of  it.  You  see  why  my  father 
sent  me  in  boyhood  to  Eucarpia.  Eu- 
\  '  phorion,  too,  when  his  mortal  mother 
died,  was  sent  thither  by  his  deathless 
father,  I  preserving  the  secret  of  his 
birth.  So,  too,  I  ordered  the  carving 
•  of  the  sacred  statue  there  —  all,  all  in 
terror  of  that  dark  abyss." 

Heliophanes  was  silent ;  but  Botas 
said  gravely :  — 

"  Why  did  you  summon  me  ?  " 

In  that  so  narrow  shoal  of  light,  made 
by  a  live  ember  in  the  universal  dark 
ness,  the  two  looked  at  one  another. 

"  Brother,  I  have  certain  knowledge, 
though  I  did  not  tell  the  chorus,  that 
our  ship,  delayed  by  storms,  cannot 
make  our  port  ;  therefore  it  will  enter 
the  port  just  beyond  the  mountains, 
and  thus"  — 

"That  statue,  fulfillment  of  the  ora 
cle,  comes  over  the  mountains  to-night  ? " 

"  Past  the  Troglodyte  Abyss.  And 
I  have  had  a  warning  vision  that  com 
mands  me  to  provide  for  danger  through 

10 


Statue  in  t&e  a 


a.  brave  man,  a  true  friend,  —  I  have 
chosen  you.  Listen  to  my  plan.  You, 
being  a  foreigner,  are,  I  believe,  free 
from  danger.  I  could  give  you  a  token  ; 
you,  run  up  into  the  mountains  ;  at  the 
white  precipice  —  mark  !  that  it  is  be 
yond  the  abyss  —  await  our  messen 
gers;  take  the  little  statue  in  your  own 
arms ;  by  daylight  you  have  it  safe  in 
the  palace.  But  govern  yourself ;  when 
I  have  told  you  all,  choose." 

Botas  reflected  a  moment,  frowning ; 
then  said  briefly  :  — 

"  I  accept.  V I  do  not  ask  you  to  jus 
tify  further  this  extravagant  tale.  I 
have  seen  that  to-day  whereon  to  found 

/  * 

belief,  v  So  for  your  pressing  necessity 
give  me  full  directions,  and  let  me  be 
off  at  once." 

He  set  his  knee  upon  the  parapet 
ready  t9  spring  over  into  the  darkness, 
but  the  prophet  caught  him  by  the 
arm. 

"  What,  Botas !  your  life  depends 
upon  it !  I  must  tell  you  all,  for  dark 
Powers  rising  out  of  that  same  chasm 
would  try  to  prevent  the  sacred  statue 
from  entering  the  valley." 
ii 


§>tattte  in  t&e  Sit 


Botas,  stepping  back  into  the  ray  of 
light,  said :  — 

"  Then  I  can  be  of  no  use.  I  am  a 
man.  I  cannot  contend  with  gods." 

"  Do  not  hesitate  !  This  night  gods 
of  heaven  war  with  us  against  the  giants 
of  darkness.  You  are  safe." 

"  Then  why  not  at  once  ?  " 

"  Because  part  of  heaven's  protec 
tion  is  that  I  should  warn  you,  —  even 
to  revealing  that  old  shameful  secret 
of  our  people.  What !  could  I  require 
you  to  act  blindly  ?  But  indeed  I  am 
absolutely  certain  that  you  will  be 
able  safely  to  pass  the  chasm,  —  which 
lies  not  far  from  the  direct  path." 

"  Not  far  from  the  direct  path  !  and 
I  have  never  seen  it,  never  heard  of  it ! " 

"  Even  so ;  we  do  not  speak  of  it  to 
strangers." 

"  Strangers  !  O  Heliophanes  !  is  it 
possible  that  you,  a  very  father  to  me, 
have  let  me  come  to  the  valley  ;  cross 
by  that  same  path  ?  Ought  not  some 
warning"  — 

"  No  need.  I  tell  you  that  chasm  is 
no  more  discoverable  by  you  than  coun 
tries  in  the  clouds.  Its  fatal  spell  draws 
12 


Cjje  Statue  in  tlje  3Ur 


only  natives  of  the  valley  ;  we  have  not 
heard  of  such  accident  in  the  case  of 
others.  Indeed,  for  that  very  reason  I 
chose  you,  —  you  are  an  alien.  But, 

0  Botas,  above  all,  because  you  are 
the  heart  and  soul  of  all  that  is  coura 
geous  and  steadfast.     Into  your  hands 

1  commit  everything  ;  only  warning  you, 
as  you  value  your  life,  never  once  to 
night  step  from  the  direct  path." 

"  I  shall  observe  your  warning,"  said 
Botas  solemnly,  then  continued:  "It 
is  singular,  —  never  to  have  heard  of 
this  secret  chasm,"  — 

"  But  you  have  heard  how  much 
more  severe  our  winters  are  than  those 
of  the  surrounding  country  ?  " 

"I  have  indeed." 

"Because  powers  of  cold  and  dark 
ness,  rising  out  of  that  same  chasm, 
breathe  destruction  upon  our  crops,  and 
encase  the  higher  mountains  in  ice." 

"  Yet  I  have  heard  that  your  guardian 
divinity  has  lived  among  you  ;  here  mar 
ried  a  beautiful  mortal,  and  lived  in  the 
Cave  of  Love,"  — 

"  So  it  was  until  one  awful  day.  I 
believe  she  must  have  wandered  away 
13 


C(je  JHattte  in  t&e  9U 


to  the  very  brink  of  that  huge  chasm  ; 
the  blood-bewildering  sight  of  Trog 
lodytes  smote  her,  and  so  she  died. 
And  in  agony  Love  fled  back  to  Hea 
ven,  vowing  never  to  touch  Earth  while 
so  horrible  a  secret  was  folded  in  her 
bosom.  Twenty-one  years  have  passed 
since  our  guardian  fled  from  us,  and  ever 
more  furiously  the  powers  of  cold  lash 
us  with  the  hailstorm  ;  then  the  time 
when,  everything  in  bud  and  tassel,  a 
blast  whirling  out  of  that  awful  moun 
tain  gorge  kills  the  young  of  the  cattle, 
and  spoils  all  hope  of  fruit." 

"  The  gods  defend  you,"  cried  Botas 
starting,  "  but  this  is  terrible !  And  this 
is  why  your  flocks  and  herds  —  Ter 
rible  !  " 

"  Terrible  :  —  yet  the  blight  upon 
corn  and  beast  is  not  so  terrible  as  the 
blight  upon  the  human  heart.  How 
many,  compelled  to  cross  the  mountains 
by  necessity  —  or  else  drawn  into  them 
through  irresistible  curiosity  —  and  of 
those  who  disappear,  whose  names, 
spoken  only  in  a  whisper  "  — 

His  voice  broke.  With  a  suppressed 
cry  Botas  seized  him  by  the  arm. 


C&e  Isrtatttc  in  tljc  &ir 

"  What !  is  it  possible  this  thing  has 
been  concealed  among  you  for  all  gen 
erations  ? " 

"  For  all  generations  ;  father  and 
son,  the  secret  is  locked  in  the  heart. 
O  my  brother,  you  are  no  longer  bound 
by  ties  of  kindred ;  be  received  in  our 
number,  guard  the  secret  of  the  valley 
as  a  son  of  the  valley  !  " 

Botas  hesitated,  drawing  his  breath 
in  a  sharp  hiss  between  his  teeth  ;  then, 
with  a  rapid  impulse,  clasped  the  hand 
of  Heliophanes.  Then,  lifting  his  hand, 
he  dropped  it  gently  upon  the  shoulder 
of  his  friend. 

Heliophanes  drew  breath  with  a 
struggle  ;  sweat  started  over  his  face. 

"  Directly  above  the  valley  is  the 
place  that  the  heart  trembles  to  remem 
ber  :  there  are  precipices  climbing  al 
most  to  the  zenith;  light  spears  you, 
cliff  and  dome  pour  down  a  ponderous 
shadow ;  suddenly  a  twist,  a  turn  about 
a  rock,  and  at  your  feet  yawns  a  gigan 
tic  chasm,  circular  like  the  mouth  of  a 
whirlpool.  Here  is  the  very  navel  of 
that  dangerous  region,  difficult  to  find 
as  places  in  dreams,  and  yet  like  the 
15 


ttbc  Statue  in  tljc  3Ur 


door  of  sleep,  sometimes  opening  upon 
the  traveller  unawares  ;  upon  its  walls, 
as  far  as  the  eye  sweeps  around,  is 
stamped-an  agony  as  ancient  as  the  race 
of  man  ;  TOT  with  the  bursting  of  Earth's 
hide,  ana  shrinking  asunder  of  the  lips 
of  the  wound,  the  solid  rock  is  bent  into 
myriad  huge  wallowing  creases  that  al 
lure,  —  stupendous  fascination  !  One 
moment  you  hang  powerless  upon  the 
lip  of  that  wrinkled  chasm,  whose  every 
stone  draws  the  human  body  as  the 
magnet  draws  iron.  Once  over,  you 
are  lost.  You  can  now  no  more  resist 
than  the  sailor  who  is  sucked  down  into 
the  gorge  of  Charybdis  :  .^tep  by  step 
>-*:•'•- iV^you  descend  ;  you  wind,  you  loop  amid 
the  tangled  fragments  of  the  base  ; 
^~  shame  and  anguish  seize  you  ;  you  bat 
tle  to  retrace  your  steps,  but  the  blood 
regurgitating  has  left  no  purpose  in 
your  feet ;  the  bull-headed  crags  have 
will  to  gore  you  onward  ;  the  invisible 
loadstone  drags  you  forward ;  the  at 
mosphere  of  the  place,  like  an  ocean 
billow,  overwhelms  and  smothers  you  : 
inexorably,  inexorably,  you  stand  at  last 
before  a  point  where,  beneath  frowns 
16 


Statue  in  t&e 


and  grins  of  earth-born  sculpture,  a 
cavern  opens  down  into  the  deep,  back 
ward,  unknown  Horror.  Here,  from 
oldest  gigantean  time,  dwells  Troglody 
tes  ;  here  the  sole  crevice  that  pierces 
Earth  into  Chaos ;  here  who  enters 
follows  darkness  back  forever.  Ah, 
how  the  human  foot  shrinks,  ^.yet 
craves  to  penetrate  that  darkness,  gross 
with  very  old  age,  and  which,  O  Botas, 
is  rather  like  to  that  blindness,  that 
brute  night  that  lies  under  birth,  than 
to  any  darkness  we  see  in  life,  or  even 
to  the  shadows  of  Death.  But  as  you 
pause,  in  the  torpid  shade  Troglodytes 
stirs :  he  scents  the  presence  of  earth- 
born  humanity,  of  the  race  akin  to  him  ; 
he  gropes  his  way  forth,  and  standing 
in  the  gloom  of  the  doorway,  turns 
down  upon  you  eyes  heavy  with  long 
ing  and  ancient  despair.  In  your  own 
heart,  loathing  gives  way  to  delight, 
delight  to  horrible  love  ;  furiously  you 
fling  yourself  into  his  embrace :  some 
are  crushed  instantly  to  death  ;  others, 
he  releases,  to  wander  back  dizzy  with 
shame  and  weakness  to  the  upper 
world  ;  others  still  he  drags  down  into 
17 


in  t&e  &tr 


the  bowels  of  earth,  and  these  have 
never  returned  to  speak  of  what  they 
have  seen." 

"  O  gods,  Heliophanes  !  —  tjy  sight  ? 
—  or.by  report  ?  "  £  &iA\  *^f~.^ 

"  By  sight,  Botas  ;  nor  haVe  I  ever 
forgotten  that  majestic  Woe.  Of  more 
than  mortal  size,  as  man  and  beast 
welded  in  onefwith  tiger-tusk  he  gnaws 
his  flesh,  even  until  the  blood  spouts. 
For  he  is  consumed  with  an  immortal 
hunger,  compared  with  which  ours  is  as 
an  eddy  to  a  whirlpool,"  — 

"  Speak,  brother  !  tell  how  all  this 
came  about.  "" 

"  Construe  rapidly,  then,  what  I  utter 
darkly.  There  was  at  first  One  with 
out  beginning  or  end  ;  some  call  him 
Time,  some,  Fate,  but  I,  Botas,  name 
him  God.  He  produced  of  his  own 
substance  Chaos,  out  of  which  flowed 
Light  and  Air  :  part  of  this  ether 
gathering  into  a  white  and  solid  sphere, 
God  sang  with  love  and  joy  ;  and  the 
orb  musically  divided,  male  and  female 
heaven  above  and  earth  beneath  ;  and 
from  its  heart  issued  the  tender,  joyful 
Eros.  Thus,  you  see,  our  guardian  is 


(L  IK  Statue  in  tljc  3Ur 


a  mighty  god,  chief  instrument  of  the 
Eternal  in  creating  and  continuing  the 
world,  eldest  as  well  as  youngest  of  the 
gods,  and  the  very  archetype  of  man  ; 
for  could  we  grasp  in  imagination  Eros' 
form,  then  should  we  palpably  seize 
upon  the  sublime  thought  that  God 
had  in  creating  man.  Now,  under 
Love's  influence  Heaven  with  Earth 
again  uniting  produced  the  race  of 
gods  and  men  jjand  so  came  into  be- 
ing  the  world  of  Love  and  Light  and 
Reason  that  is  the  soul  of  Light. 
Earth  herself  existed  as  a  firm  barrier 
against  Chaos  and  that  disorder  bred 
in  under-darkness,  lest  ever  it  break 
upward  to  mar  God's  glorious  crea 
tion.  Yet  she  of  all  the  universe, 
being  next  to  Chaos,  was  least  perfect. 
There  came  a  time  when  she  rebelled 
against  Heaven, — a  discordant  throe, 
—  and  a  monster  was  born  in  her 
depths,  Earth  his  sole  parent,  —  Earth 
that  abhorred  her  offspring  and  hid  him 
in  a  deep,  stony  cavern,  with  labor  and 
anguish  retaining  him  myriads  of  ages, 
until  she  could  no  longer  stifle  her 
loathing.  Her  ocean  -  drenched  sides 
19 


A  -^-l M"?Q- 
^^^%SW 

/    V    KA  ^1    fc«£v^T  X^^L 
et&e  \S>tattte  in  t&e  Sir 

\  H 

recoiled,  her  bones  of  granite  cracked 
and  parted  ;  with  cries  and  pangs  the 
living  rock  split  down  into  Chaos,  up 
into  Light;  and  Troglodytes  burst 
forth,  lusting  for  victims,  gnawing  his 
'•'\_own  flesh  x  and  forever  he  moans  among 
th"e"  precipfces  until  death  shall  release 
him  from  his  torture.  And  from  a  point 
far  east  of  the  amphitheatre  to  that 
pinnacle  westward  that  looks  down  to 
ocean,  —  over  all.  fhat  space  no  leaf 
puts  forth,  aeon  upon  aeon  the  barren 
wilderness  folding  in  its  heart  the  ma- 
<fftA  jjesty  of  the  shame  and  despair  of  the 
r  'mother  of  Titans.  And  still  out  of  her 
torn  heart  rise  blasts  of  winter  and  hail 
and  snow,  and  still  upon  us,  children 
of  earth,  falls  the  shame  of  our  mother, 
to  all  generations  the  flower  of  our 
people  disappearing  into  the  ravenous 
abyss.  Who  is  he  that  shall  grapple 
with  Troglodytes,  and  choke  the  gorge 
to  Chaos  ?  What !  shall  man  perform 
the  deed  that  gods  have  not  attempted  ?  n.^-'V 

"  O  Botas,  Botas,  my  ecstasy  comes 
over  me.  I  see  the  stars  of  dawn,  the 
chorus,  climb  these  heights  :  forth  steps 
the  Hero  !  And  now  in  the  palace  the 

-j  \.tr*>. 


* 
i\v£~4 


W 


young  chorus  deck  the  sacred  statue; 
and  now,  oh  \  Troglodytes  dies,  and  * 
the  deep  gash  is  scarred  with  stoned  /| 
to  eternity ;  never  snow,  nor  hail,  nor  ***** 
blight  upon  the  triumphant  virtue  in 
the  heart  of  man. A^  And  hast  thou 
thought  our  guardian  youngest  and 
weakest  of  the  gods  ?  Yes,  but  also 
eldest  and  strongest.  Feel  upon  whose 
mighty  protection  thou  reliest.  O  my 
brother,  were  it  not  so,  how  little  I 
could  send  thee.  Ar^thou  going  ? 
My  love  and  blessing  go  with  thee, 
Botas.  It  is  dark,  but  in  the  soul  of 
the  brave  man  Heaven  has  placed  an 
inextinguishable  light." 

"  Thy  blessing  be  my  light ! " 

The  last  ember  in  the  house  flashed 
up  and  expired.  Both  men  moved 
forward  in  absolute  darkness.  As  they 
reached  the  cliff  and  Botas  swung  him 
self  over,  Heliophanes  leaned  upon  the 
parapet. ;'  :-v  t4\  Uu^  V^ 

"Have  you  the  step?" 

"Yes,  I  have  it." 

"  God  protect  you,  and  unfold  what 
is  good  for  us." 


Cbe  §tatttc  in  t&c  3ii 


/"s  A  few  notes  floated  up  from  a  dis 
tant  chorus  ;  a  yet  more  distant  chorus 
answered  them  out  of  the  bosom  of 
the  darkness. 

22 


UP  the  steep  mountain,  through  a 
gray  and  savage  waste  of  rock,  the 
herdsman  was  climbing  with  long 
strides  ;  now  and  again  he  hummed 
the  fragment  of  a  military  ode.  As  he 
turned  an  angle  he  saw  in  the  path 
above  him  a  young  man  of  heroic  stat 
ure  ;  armed,  dilated  darkly  against  the 
sky,  and  with  the  rising  moon  hung 
behind  him  like  a  golden  shield,  this 
young  stranger  seemed  the  god  Mars 
in  the  act  of  issuing  out  of  heaven.  $  'P/P  ^"^f 

"  Stop  there !  Who  are  you  ? "  shouted 
the  stranger. 

"  That  voice  !  "  murmured  Botas. 
"  Don't  you  know  me,  Euphorion  ?  "  he 
shouted. 

And  instantly  the  other,  crying  cor 
dially,  "  Why,  by  the  gods,  it  is  Botas  !  " 
broke  his  way  down  through  the  moon- 
bedimmed  foliage,  and  the  two  clasped 
hands. 

"Ah,  Euphorion!"  said  the  herds- 
23 


Statue  in  t&e  Sir 


man.  He  hesitated,  then  dropped  his 
hand  affectionately  upon  the  young 
man's  shoulder.  "  Which  way  ?  " 

"  Neither  at  present.  I  sleep  in  the 
mountains.  But  up  here  the  cold 
breath  of  morning  wakens  one  early  : 
by  cock-crow  I  descend  into  the  val 
ley." 

"  To  astonish  every  one !  Why, 
where  did  you  get  such  arms  ? " 

Euphorion  smiled.  "  My  father  gave 
them  to  me,"  he  said.  Now  that  he 
stood  in  the  moonlight  he  did  not  ap 
pear  so  formidable,  —  a  fair-locked, 
eager-eyed  young  man,  enchantingly 
handsome,  with  a  strenuous  but  some 
what  innocent  air. 

"Tell  me,  Botas,  how  is  Helio- 
phanes  ?  " 

"Well, — very  well." 

"  And  Leanira  ?  You  know  how 
long  it  is  since  I  have  seen  her,  —  not 
since  she  left  Eucarpia.  Does  her 
father  still  seclude  her  ?  Every  one  in 
Callithera  tells  me,  'Nobody  knows 
the  daughter  of  Heliophanes.'  A  pity, 
—  she  was  beautiful  as  the  daughter 
of  a  goddess." 

24 


Statue  in  t(je  air 


Botas  slid  his  hand  deliberately  from 
the  other's  shoulder.  "  Say,  rather, 
you  are  the  son  of  a  god." 

"  Hah  !  "  The  young  man  started  in 
great  surprise.  "  Has  he  told  you  —  ? " 

"  All :  the  ancient  secret  of  your 
valley,  —  the  Troglodyte  Abyss,  —  the 
coming  of  the  Conqueror  to-morrow. 
For  so  the  gods  empowered  him.  I  am 
sent  to  guide  the  statue-bearers  ;  they 
come  this  way  to-night." 

"  This  way !  O  Botas,  what  a  mad 
mistake  that  was  !  O,  but  how  unfor 
tunate  !  All  where  the  path  runs 
nearest  the  abyss,  harpies  have  blinded 
it  by  dashing  stones  over  it  with  their 
wings." 

"Ah!"  — 

"  Come — some  other  way — quick ! " 

"  But  what  ?  We  are  no  prophets  ; 
we  cannot  dream  ways." 

Euphorion  laid  his  hand  thoughtfully 
upon  the  other's  arm.  "I  have  the 
idea.  An  old  magician  who  will  guide 
you  both  ways.  I  will  walk  back  with 
you  and  point  out  his  abode." 

They  turned  and  climbed  steadily  up, 
25 


Clje  Statue  in  t&c  air 


Euphorion  in  advance.    At  a  level  spot 
he  caught  his  breath. 

"  About    this    conqueror,   Botas,  - 
how   did  Heliophanes   say  he  was  to 
appear  ? " 

"  At  sunrise  to-morrow  he  plucks  a 
floating  cluster  from  the  pool  before 
Heliophanes'  house." 

"The  very  act!"  Then,  wheeling 
face  to  face  :  "  I  am  he  that  shall  slay 
Troglodytes."  And  seizing  upon  the 
astonished  herdsman,  he  hurried  him 
on  up  the  path. 

"Enough  said.  I  tell  you  this  in 
order  to  explain  why  I  cannot  go  back 
with  you  the  whole  journey ;  this  night 
Heaven  commands  me  to  sleep  on  a 
ledge  overlooking  Heliophanes',  a  point 
whence  I  may  swiftly  descend  in  the 
morning." 

"  O  Euphorion,  how  you  have  stunned 
me !  No,  no  !  What,  Heaven  has 
told  you  ?  you  have  kept  it  secret  ? 
Good  God  !  —  't  is  incredible  !  Why, 
you,  but  ten  years  back  a  playful  boy 
full  of  pranks,  —  why,  I  remember  you,  a 
little  boy  so  high,  running  about  in  the 
meadow  after  my  heifers.  O  surely, 
26 


Statue  in  tfje  &i 


man,  this  is  too  dreadful !  I  have  no 
words,  I  am  unapt  in  speech,  —  but 
this  has  struck  into  my  heart.  I,  that 
never  weep,  —  I  could  pour  out  tears 
now  like  a  woman.  But  foolish  imagi 
nation  !  Surely  you  are  the  favored 
of  Heaven,  the  child  of  an  Immortal, 
and  to  those  to  whom  is  given  the  in 
conceivable  struggle,  glory  is  sweeter 
than  life.  But  I  have  heard  so  much 
to-night,  so  many  strange  things,  my 
head 's  in  confusion.  I  implore  you 
lay  all  else  aside,  and  straight  to  what 
is  now  our  most  pressing  need.  Tell 
me  something  of  the  history, — of  the 
character  of  this  guide  you  recommend 
me." 

"  Briefly  then,  dear  friend,  for  our 
time  is  short.  Here's  the  gist  of  it, 
and  not  all  by  hearsay.  He  is  a  native 
of  Callithera.  Who  was  his  father,  no 
man  knows,  but  he  was  born  hideously 
deformed  ;  and  for  the  general  good, 
the  law  limits  the  liberty  of  deformed 
persons.  They  may  not  marry,  per 
form  sacrifice,  nor  take  part  in  the 
government.  Nevertheless,  it  was  pres 
ently  learned  that  this  same  Melanion 
27 


u_  be  Statue  in  tljt  .31  tr 


was  working  with  extraordinary  inge 
nuity  to  become  the  very  leader  of 
the  Callitherans.  A  sentence  of  ban 
ishment  was  pronounced  upon  him. 
This  upon  a'  festival  day ;  and  no 
sooner  was  it  pronounced  than  my 
foster-father  comes  running  into  the 
palace,  all  flushed  and  intoxicated  with 
joy,  and  shouting  out  his  wonderful 
vision, — how  Heaven  had  revealed  to 
him  that  a  man  should  slay  Troglo 
dytes.  Of  course  Melanion  was  for 
gotten.  Some  said,  'Heliophanes  is 
mad,'  others  that  he  was  drunk.  No 
one  believed  until  we  had  gone  to  the 
Cave  of  Love  and  dug,  and  there, 
—  the  stone  and  the  oracle  !  How 
well  I  remember  that  day !  People 
flung  themselves  down  upon  their 
knees  to  kiss  my  foster-father's  hand, 
and  some  wept  like  children,  and 
shouted  out  that  he  was  sent  by  the 
gods,  and  all  crowned  him  with  the 
sacred  flower,  —  ah,  but  that  was  a  glori 
ous  day  !  Suddenly  a  voice  shrieked 
out :  'He  lies !  he  buried  the  stone 
himself  ! '  And  behold,  —  Melanion. 
Botas,  the  people  turned  upon  him  in 
28 


CL  I;r  S>tattte  in  tbc  3tr 


such  a  frenzy  I  thought  they  would 
have  torn  him  limb  from  limb,  but 
Heliophanes  restrained  them.  Then 
Melanion  cursed  our  valley.  He  fled 
howling  into  the  mountains,  nor  has  he 
ever  returned.  Yet  now  came  over 
him  a  remarkable  change.  He  studied 
the  skies,  I  tell  you,  —  herbs,  stones, — 
and  in  solitude  learned  magical  arts. 
A  broad  light  shone  into  that  distorted 
soul,  calming  his  intemperate  fury, 
so  that,  even  seven  years  back,  he  res 
cued  two  herdsmen  entangled  in  the 
spell  of  the  abyss,  and  afterwards 
saved  a  number  of  others.  So  you  see 
how  it  is  with  him,  even  as  Heliophanes 
says,  —  that,  having  compassed  an  aim 
better  suited  to  his  condition,  the 
knowledge  of  the  mild  destinies  of 
plants  and  musing  under  the  quiet 
constellations  have  taught  him  peace." 

There  followed  a  few  more  rods  of 
upward  toiling,  when  with  a  deep  sigh 
and  sudden  sparkling  of  the  eyes, 
Euphorion  drew  Botas  to  the  rim  of 
a  jutting  ledge. 

"  And  now,  friend,  I  may  go  no  far 
ther;  here  is  the  place  I  spoke  of. 
29 


C&c  Urtattte  in  t&e  &it 

That  white  rock  directly  above  is  the 
magician's  abode.  But  look  below, — 
Heliophanes',  —  and  the  pale  glimmer 
is  the  pool.  How  wonderful  and  awful 
it  is  in  the  moonlight !  O  this  I  do  de 
clare,  that  ever  since  that  crying  voice 
was  torn  out  of  the  dumb  earth,  I 
have  brooded  upon  this  one  thing,  the 
slaying  of  Troglodytes.  And  always 
it  was  I  that  clutched  him  by  the 
throat,  always  I  that  drove  the  sword ; 
yes,  I  believed  myself  the  conqueror. 
And  now  the  final  summons,  —  in  what 
a  transport  it  has  thrown  me  !  At  mid 
night,  splendor  drove  before  my  eyes 
and  I  started  up  to  the  shouting  of 
trumpets.  May  this  lead  on  to  life  as 
well  as  victory  ;  but  if  to  death,  such  a 
death  were  to  an  Immortal  a  glorious 
crown.  Farewell  to  thee,  Botas,  fare 
well  !  the  best  of  fortune,  the  utmost 
happiness,  to  thee.  O  my  true  friend  ! 
What  thou  hast  been  to  me  no  tongue 
can  voice  :  in  this  supreme  hour  I  keep 
the  recollection  of  it  in  my  heart.  To 
morrow  I  take  leave  of  Heliophanes  ; 
and  Leanira,  remember  me  to  her  if  I 
should  die." 

30 


Statue  in  t&e 


The  two  men  locked  hands  in  si 
lence  :  then  Botas,  releasing  his  own 
abruptly,  strode  on  up  the  mountain. 
Euphorion  spread  his  mantle  and  lay 
down  to  sleep.  Once  he  raised  him 
self  upon  his  elbow,  calling  :  - 

"  Remember  his  name,  Botas,  — 
Melanion ! " 

And  a  spectral  rock  far  above,  that 
seemed  ever  threatening  to  fall,  repeated 
with  a  hollow  echo,  "  Melanion  !  " 


THE  waning  moon  had  risen ;  her 
light  fell  down  the  chasm  of  the  Trog 
lodyte  ;  her  magical  light  dwelt  upon 
precipice  and  pillar,  which,  as  if  in  hor 
ror  of  their  own  enormity,  seemed  more 
than  ever  pale  and  gigantic  from  base 
to  where  the  summit  clove  heaven, 
hiding  away  a  third  part  of  the  stars. 
Behind  every  crag  the  hollow  engorged 
an  enormous  darkness  :  but  to  the  base 
of  the  chasm  clear  light  slid  spell-bound; 
it  crept  through  labyrinthine  rock,  it 
glided  along  imprisoning  walls,  it 
floated  like  arL  exhalation  up  the  slope 
and  to  that  looor  and  kkrkness  that 
leads  beyond  imagination  down  to  the 
Unknown  Horror.  Here  the  approach 
of  light  was  arrested :  in  the  narrow 
obscurity  moved  the  forms  of  gigantic 
bats  and  barbarous  apes.  Not  real 
animals  that  breathe  and  eat :  these 
are  the  foodless  children  of  Erebus  ; 
things  clotted  out  of  the  gross  intangi- 
32 


Statue  in  t&e  air 


ble  ;  shapes  that  have  wandered  out  of 
the  endless  dark  of  Chaos  to  harbor 
here  upon  the  shores  of  Light.  It  is 
these  bats  that  fill  night  with  fan  ^pal 
pable  alarm,  quenching  the  spirit  like 
a  little  light  into  darkness  :  the  apes  -fr 
spring  upon  the  sleeper  and  clutch  his 
throat ;  then  he  dreams  that  fee  has 
fallen  from  a  precipice,  or  that  the  nine- 
headed  hydra  is  strangling  him.  Be 
yond  this  doorway  all  the  amphitheatre 
had  been  untenanted,  voiceless.  Now 
with  a  roaring  gale  melancholy  cries 
shook  the  air  from  side  to  side :  — 

"  Melanion  !  Melanion  !  Melanion  !  " 

Three  harpies  had  dropped  into  the 
chasm ;  suspended  upon  vast  wings, 
they  vanished  into  the  Endless  Dark. 

A  silence  as  after  a  thunder-clap. 

Then  a  deformed  man  came  running 
and  sweating  through  the  tangled  rocks, 
and  fell  gasping  down  before  the  en 
trance  to  the  Endless  Dark. 

"  It  is  done !  We  have  wrecked  the 
ship ;  the  statue  of  Love  is  sunken  to 
the  bottom  of  ocean."  He  shook  as  in 
an  ague-fit.  "  Speak  to  me,  you  Pow 
ers,  —  such  omens  and  prodigies  !  Oh ! 


Statue  in  t&e  3U 


shall  the  gods  overwhelm  us  ?  All,  all, 
crew  and  flying  spars,  sucked  down  into 
the  whirlpool.  One  escaped,  —  one  that 
cried  aloud  to  his  children.  I  could  not 
slay  him,  for  a  flash  leaped  out  of  the 
zenith,  and  as  I  climbed  the  rocks  they 
shed  blood  and  crawled.  Ah  !  " 

Such  a  horrible  scream  palpitated  in 
the  air  that  one  would  imagine  the  pre 
cipice  to  shudder,  but  the  cliff  remained 
immovable,  the  moonlight  calm. 

With    a    convulsive    effort    the    de 
formed  man  dragged  his  body  forward 
and  flung  it  upon  the  pillars  to  the  End 
less  Dark  :  he  scraped  the  rock  with 
his  bleeding  nails.     "  Speak  to  me !  I 
A  $v^$  faint.    Not  fear  of  the  gods,  but  of  fail- 
,  ure.     For  oh,  I  could  die  transfixed  by 
/   a  thunderbolt,  I  could  sweat  ten  thou 
sand  years  like  a  Titan  beneath  a  moun 
tain,  had  I  but  revenge  upon  those  I 
hate.     For   this    I    have   toiled,    bled, 
starved,  been  kind  to  my  enemies,  ten 
der  to  those  that  strangled  my  life,  in 
order  that,  gathering  the  full  volume  of 
my  detestation,  I  might  hurl  it  in  one 
cataract    upon    that    accursed   valley. 
Speak  to  me,  you  Powers.     Cry  aloud  ! 
34 


«.  fcr  Statue  in  tljr  Sir 


Roar !  Or  even  a  whisper,  —  I  have 
served  you  faithfully  !  " 

Far  down,  the  obscurity  was  troubled 
with  indistinct  murmurings  and  broken 
babblings  :  "  Melanion  —  bound  to  us 
—  son  of  human  mother  by  deathless 
monster  of  the  abyss  —  our  kin  —  our 
tie  between  Darkness  and  humanity  to 
aid  us  —  that  hate  not,  love  not  —  but 
ruin  in  obedience  to  Fate." 

"  But  my  revenge  ? "  stammered 
Melanion.  He  paused,  straining  his 
attention,  |hen  tears  of  agony  bursting 
from  his  eyes.  "  Madness !  my  only 
friends  have  deserted  me  ;  Earth,  Hea 
ven,  and  the  eternal  gods  are  combined 
against  me  !  " 

And  again  rose  the  words  of  the  in 
visible  chorus,  but  now  distinct  and 
ever-advancing,  as  though  an  innumer 
able  army  were  climbing  up  out  of 
Chaos  into  Light,  space  beyond  space 
of  endless,  eyeless  darkness,  murmur 
ing  :- 

"All  earth  is  but  a  spume   thrown 

out  of  the  bottomless  abyss.     Upon  its 

merest  surface,  where  it  is  caressed  by 

the  sphere  of  Air  and  Light,  it  breaks 

35 

f- 


Statue  in  t&e  air 


into  a  fragile  verdure,  and  fruits  that 
nourish  ah  equally  fragile  race  of  hu 
manity.  Over  all  springs  an  ethereal 
sphere,  dwelling-place  of  the\  immortal  ! 
\gods,  beautiful  indeed,  but  frail  as  a 
}  bubble  as  compared  with  that  cold  gulf, 
'  that  iron  depth  of  darkness,  that  under 
earth  sinks  endlessly.  Hence  issue 
Powers  fated  to  ruin,  as  Eros  to  cre 
ate.  For  we  q^rklohes  draw  back  into 
Chaos  whatever  he  has  striven  to  raise  *Jy* 
out  of  Chaos :  forever  he  attempts  to  $ 
breathe  into  his  creations  immortal 
life  ;  forever  we  undo  the  attempt,  to 
dissolve  it  back  into  the  formless.  Now 
comes  this^Troglodyte-conqueror,  who 
should  close  the  ruinous  crack  opened 
up  out  of  Chaos  into  Light.  />  But  it  is 
we  that  shall  conquer ;  and  our  contin 
ual  victory  is  token  of  the  latter  end. 
Air,  ocean,  wide  land,  and  enormous 
clouds,  the  supernal  gods  and  Eros  him 
self,  —  all,  all  shall  melt  at  last  into 
Chaos,  and  be  as  a  sigh  that  has  passed 
out  of  a  spent  body,  or  a  dream  forgot 
ten,  And  the  power  of  darkness  shall 
yet  endure  when  all  else  is  passed  away, 
sunken  into  the  arms  of  the  ancient 


Statue  in  t&e  3Ur 


Father,  and  dissolved  into  tfee^  wide 
oblivion.  Chaos  is  first  and  last ;  he 
engendered  and  bore  all ;  he  in  the  end 
devours  all." 

Melanion  sighed,  shuddering  from 
neck  to  heel.  "  Whosoever  is  deformed, 
and  in  his  misery  shuns  the  light,  the 
gods  pursue  with  unquenchable  hatred. 
But  they  shall  not  crush  me.  I  am 
sprung  from  a  race  mightier  than 
theirs."  Then,  in  a  voice  of  supplica 
tion  :  "  Ye  mighty  Ignorances  that  hold 
in  your  dark  bosoms  more  than  is  in 
the  knowledge  of  the  gods,  I  implore 
you  to  reveal  to  me  the  means  through 
which  to-morrow  ye  purpose  to  over 
come  Eros,  and  Apojlo,  Lord  of  Light ! " 

And  nearer  still,  and  louder,  and  ever- 
increasing,  rose  the  solemn,  barbarous 
chanting  :  "  Billows  of  night  and  freez 
ing  clouds  rolling  out  of  the  chasm  shall 
bury  the  valley." 

Melanion  ^erected  himself  upon  his 
knees,  as  a  snake  does  upon  its  coil  be 
fore  it  strikes.  f\"  But  I  have  heard,  and 
my  father  has  'told  me,  that  a  very  an 
cient  one,  Fate,  lies  deeper  than  dark 
ness,  —  deeper  even  than  Chaos.  Now. 
37 


Statue  in  t&e  Sit 


if  the  writing  upon  the  stone  be  true, 
the  prophecy  given  by  the  gods  to 
Heliophanes,  then  it  is  the  will  of  Fate 
that  this  son  of  Eros^  should  to-morrow 
slay  Troglodytes."  J^  M*  S4Lot 

And  the  chorus  answered  him,  volu 
minous  with  myriad  marching  :  "  The 
will  of  Fate  is  thus  :  —  For  all  we  all 
are  unable  to  stem  his  will,  yet,  sunrise 
to  sunset,  to-morrow  is  given  to  us  to 
swerve  that  will,  as  a  stream  is  swerved 
in  its  channel." 

Up  sprang  Melanion,  laughing  hide 
ously,  beating  the  rock  in  a  tumult  with 
his  fists.  "To-morrow  !  the  fatal  day  ! 
If  here  the  will  of  Fate  be  swerved, 
Troglodytes  lives  forever.  And  if  for 
ever,  forever  that  long  flaw  is  held  open 
out  of  Chaos  into  Light."  And  the 
voices  of  the  hidden  chorus  broke  in 
^  deep  volume  :  "  Forever !  forever  !  " 
And  mounting  upon  that  chorus,  but 
higher  and  more  piercing,  the  cry  of 
Melanion  :  "  Heliophanes'  prophecy  is 
delusion.  O  I  behold  it,  —  tier  above 
tier  to  welcome  the  hero  ;  and  no  hero 
comes  !  But  I  shall  be  there  to  enjoy 
your  triumph,  —  kind  countrymen,  lov- 
38 


C&e  Statue  in  t&e  9Ur 


ing  brothers !  Curses  of  the  Furies 
upon  you,  how  all  your  pangs  rip  open 
my  heart  in  agonizing  joy,  my  flesh 
shudders  *•  with  delight !  Now,  now, 
now,  — yfyt  as  a  man,  as  a  monster  in  de 
fiance  of  the  gods,  —  I  hurl  you  upon 
Heliophanes,  consume  Heliophanes  in 
hatred  toward  his  people  ;  jar  you,  grind 
you,  that  when  Darkness  descends,  and 
Death  sweeps  the  valley,  —  perish  body 
and  soul !  nor  even  be  as  your  fathers 
mindless,  bloodless  tatters  floating 
about  in  Erebus,  —  no !  but  as  utterly 
consumed  into  chaos,  —  my  fury  leaps 
after  you  beyond  the  grave  !  Already 
the  first  victim  —  My  magic  !  men  are 
struggling  in  this  circle  of  enchant 
ment.  O  Hecate,  rise,  urge  forth  Trog-jQ  <2L/l^C 
lodytes  !  "  And  mingling  with  his  ex~  V  A^^t^t> 
cited  cries,  came  the  clamors  of  the  ' 
advancing  chorus,  the  stamping,  and 
the  clashing  wings  of  the  harpies,  until  VfifX^wrL 
at  the  very  threshold  hundreds  of  voices 
broke  into  a  triumphant  chant,  and 
into  the  moonlight  glided  a  giantess 
wreathed  with  serpents.  And  only  a 
pace  behind  her  the  gloaming  had  taken , 
a  brutal  shape.  "  Troglodytes  !  Trog- 


JS>tattte  in  tlje  &tr 


lodytes  !  "  thundered  the  turbulent  cho 
rus. 

That  moment  upon  the  lip  of  the,     , 
amphitheatre,  and  in  a  narrow  interval,^ 
appeared  the  forms  of  two  men.    "  Bo-  '£'•" 
tas  !  "  screamed  the  magician.     "And 
4  he,  the    one   man, » escaped   from    the 
drowned  ship.     No  room  for  both  to 
pass  at  once.      Oh,  you   Powers,   not 
that  one !     Not  Botas,  you  enchanted 
rocks,  you   bewildering   whirlpool,   let 
him   escape.      Let    Heliophanes   learn 
"""'I      j     from  the  tongue  of  his  beloved- that  all 
C  U*-fi  *•'  ^^  is  lost,  dead,  sunken  to  the  bottom  ofC 
'\^c/w^VuMS,ocean ;   ^the   other  draw   down   to  his   . 
death ! " 

He  shook  up   his  wand   command- 
ingly,  appealingly.    The  two  men  locked*1^  -4 
arms  in  a  furious  struggle :  one  fell  over    *j  ~ 
backward ;  the  other,  forward  and  head-*^L 
long  into  the  abys 


Ht^W'^  ^Mjo^J^n  f  .   j 

\        btJki     Y^A^fy-^Ait 

/Lq/iA^.4   ^^    ^    ^L  * 
I  )a^   Uv^ve*-'  ^ 

I 


THE  waning  moon  descended  over 
the  valley.  Night  had  driven  her 
chariot  near  to  plunging  back  into 
chaos ;  and  singular  dreams,  double- 
faced  or  mouse-eared,  were  floating  in 
and  out  among  the  apple-boughs. 
Some  are  shaped  like  charming  moths  : 
it  is  these  that  enchant  the  slumbers 
of  youth. 

In  the  palace  all  was  ready  for  the 
dance  of  youths  and  maidens  :  but  the 
elder  chorus,  after  a  night-long  watch, 
had  poured  out  of  the  temple ;  had 
crossed  the  valley ;  and  stood  armed, 
in  deep  silence,  around  the  pool  from 
whose  bosom  a  spray  should  declare 
the  Hero. 

And  Heliophanes,  standing  under 
the  apple-tree,  stretched  his  hands 
toward  the  chorus. 

"  O  my  people,  what  a  victory 
Heaven  has  given  us !  Our  terrible 
humiliation  is  over  ;  the  path  to  Chaos, 
41 


Statue  in  tlje 


closed.  Welcome,  Hero,  plucking  the 
mysterious  flower.  For  look,  not  only 
through  vision,  but  in  open  sign,  the 
gods  announce  thee  :  since  earth  is  so 
early  and  peacefully  green,  the  apple- 
bough,  burdened  with  blossom,  a  glori 
ous  warmth  overpowers  the  valley.  Be 
hold  the  token  of  Troglodytes'  death  : 
Winter  is  already  slain."  He  poured 
wine  upon  the  sod  ;  strewed  embers 
over  the  altar,  and  over  these  boughs 
of  the  apple-tree  ;  a  soft  vapor  floated 
upward  ;  and  lifting  his  hands,  Heli- 
ophanes  prayed :  "  O  Eros,  Chaste 
Innocence,  Ethereal  Golden  -  winged 
Wanderer, — Thou  who  ages  ago,  issu 
ing  from  the  milk-white  primeval  orb, 
drew  heaven  and  earth  in  harmony,  — 
ever-dear  Guardian,  hear  us.  We  are 
overwhelmed  with  horror  of  the  brutal 
monster  ;  we  faint  in  struggling  with 
resistless  Chaos.  O  as  dawn  shall  soon 
exhaust  the  billow  of  darkness,  and  the 
sun  rise  out  of  the  unconquered  abyss 
of  the  morning,  now  scatter  forever  the 
blindness  that  has  encompassed  our 
souls.  Be  this  hero  inspired  with  thy 
breath,  be  his  arm  fortified  through  thy 
42 


Statue  in  t&e  9Ut 


godhood,  —  O  Love,  let  not  human  en 
deavor  fail  entirely,  let  not  the  beauti 
ful  souls  of  men  dissolve  into  chaos." 

A  sigh  ran  along  the  apple-trees,  and 
through  the  multitude  of  men  a  deep 
murmur. 

Then  profound  silence  fell.  Raising 
the  sacrificial  knife,  Heliophanes  sev 
ered  a  cluster  from  the  sacred  tree  and 
placed  it  upon  the  pool,  where  it  lay,  a 
double  miracle  in  air  and  water ;  grad 
ually  Dawn  spread  over  the  sky  a 
tender  color  like  apple-blossoms,  and 
created  therein  a  multitude  of  small 
gray  clouds.  Immediately  the  chorus 
climbed  to  the  terrace  ;  only  the  pro 
phet  remained  below  in  prayer. 

Suddenly  splendor  shot  to  the  ze 
nith  ;  the  whole  cloud-phalanx,  wheel 
ing  down  to  meet  the  sun,  shouted  with 
light ;  the  fiery  wheel  clove  the  moun 
tain-top  ;  and  a  beam,  leaping  across 
the  pool,  suspended  flower  and  reflec 
tion  in  a  flood  of  glory ;  and  north  to 
south  the  chorus  flashed  like  the  belt 
of  Orion.  Into  the  air  rolled  the  tri 
umphal  chant,  and  exalted  the  day  that 
led  to  them  the  conqueror. 
43 


(Tljc  Statue  in  the 


The  last  notes  dissolved  in  silence  ; 
the  men  in  brilliant  sunlight  leaned 
upon  their  spears;  the  gods,  bending 
from  their  golden  seats,  looked  down 
through  the  pellucid  air.  Very  gently 
the  willows  parted,  and  a  girl  of  nine 
teen,  moving  over  the  violets,  stooped 
and  plucked  from  the  pool  the  mystical 
flower. 

"  O  my  daughter !  "  groaned  Helio- 
phanes,  and  bowed  down  upon  his 
knees.  "What!  his  own  daughter?" 
the  whisper  ran  among  the  chorus  ; 
and  all  those  men  stood  frozen,  as 
though  they  had  fixed  their  eyes  upon 
the  Medusa.  One  instant  she  paused, 
covered  the  flowers  in  her  bosom,  and 
fled. 

As  instantly  broke  into  view  from 
the  opposite  side  of  the  cliff  a  man  torn 
naked  to  the  waist,  gashed  and  bleed 
ing. 

"  The  storm  !  the  storm  !  Get  your 
families  away,  get  your  herds  into 
shelter  !  Night  has  borne  monstrous 
omens,  —  oh,  the  most  fatal  omens !  " 

"Speak!  speak!"  from  the  chorus. 
"Who  are  you  ?" 

44 


Statue  in  tlje  Sir 


"Botas,  messenger  of  Heliophanes 
to  those  who  bear  the  sacred  statue. 
Nightfall  I  went  into  the  mountains  ; 
met  a  solitary  sailor,  who  told  me  the 
ship  was  wrecked,  the  statue  lost.  Con 
fusion  seized  us.  I  cannot  tell  how 
first  we  wandered  into  that  accursed 
circle,  for  Heliophanes  had  warned  me  : 
yet  we  strove  to  escape  ;  we  doubled 
upon  our  tracks  ;  then  a  turn,  a  sharp 
turn"  — 

"Ah!  ah!" 

"  Oh,  in  one  instant  every  rock  in  that 
circuit  had  cords,  thongs  of  bull's  hide 
to  draw  down  my  limbs,  my  heart  that 
burned  and  beat  furiously ;  frenzied  I 
fought  with  that  other  for  right  of  first 
entrance,  and  I,  the  stronger  —  Mer 
ciful  Heaven  !  Some  god  must  have 
tripped  my  foot,  for  I  stumbled  back, 
struck  violently  against  a  rock ;  when  I 
came  to,  rushed  away  in  ecstasy  ;  yet 
again  stumbling  in  horror,  —  I  saw  a 
gigantic  Shadow  glide  through  the 
wilderness,  and  before  her  ran  the 
hissing  blast.  The  storm  !  the  storm  ! 
to  shelter!  O  pray,  pray  to  the  gods  !  " 

He  staggered  and  dropped ;  raised 
45 


in 


himself  upon  one  hand,  struggling  to 
speak  ;  fell  forward  insensible,  the  blood 
spurting  from  the  wound  in  his  head. 

An  inconceivable  roaring  clamor 
arose  among  the  chorus,  and  over  the 
clamor  a  scream.  It  was  Melanion. 
He  had  leaped  to  a  crag  that  opposed 
Heliophanes  and  dominated  the  chorus. 

"  Oh,  fools  and  blind  !  I  told  you  it 
was  all  a  fraud,  that  cursed  stone  bur 
ied  in  the  earth.  Why,  he  carved  it 
himself,  you  sucklings  ;  made  his  own 
oracle,  —  cunningly  pious,  working  to 
ambitious  ends  ;  contrived  the  statue  ; 
and  has  hidden  some  fellow  in  the 
bushes  to  step  forward  at  a  signal,  some 
rascal  who  has  just  taken  to  his  heels. 
Dreadful  anger  of  the  gods  dreadfully 
fallen  upon  his  blasphemy,  —  the  ship 
is  wrecked,  the  statue  lost,  the  hero 
is  a  woman.  His  own  daughter  !  See 
how  the  gods  declare  his  crime  !  " 

"  Oh  !  oh  !  oh  !  "  cried  the  chorus. 

"  Yes,  bawl !  Split  up  your  lungs  ! 
See  if  you  can  crack  heaven  now  to 
get  some  word  to  the  gods.  Bah  !  they 
withdraw,  they  detest  you,  they  deliver 
you  up  to  the  powers  of  the  storm. 
46 


Statue  in  tljc  3Ut 


Deaf  puppets  of  the  blasphemer,  judge 
whether  I  speak  truth  or  lies.  If  your 
prophet  be  from  the  gods,  the  gods 
will  protect  him,  but  if  a  blasphemous 
pretender  -  Behold  !  I  have  stricken 
him  blind,  I  dash  him  down  to  the  spot. 
Leap,  Heliophanes  !  fly,  run  !  Look 
how  he  clutches  at  the  air ;  tumbles 
down  in  a  fit !  Ha  !  ha  !  ha  !  What  a 
glorious  prophet  !  Fools,  fools,  fools  !  " 

"Look  !  "  cried  the  chorus;  "he  has 
fallen  upon  the  spot." 

"  Kill  him  !  "  shouted  furious  voices. 
"  It  is  proven,  —  he  revealed  our  secret 
to  the  stranger.  O  damnable  beast !  " 

The  ranks  broke,  the  chorus  swayed 
and  stooped  to  fling  itself  upon  Helio 
phanes.  Then  a  few  strong  voices  :  — 

"  No  time  !  the  storm-cloud  already 
upon  the  mountain.  Back  to  the  tem 
ple,  and  lift  to  our  guardian  hands 
unstained  with  blood.  To  the  temple, 
to  the  temple  !  Pray  to  the  gods,  then 
kill  the  blasphemer  and  his  daughter." 

"  To  the  temple  !  to  the  temple  !  " 

in  confusion ;  and  many  loud  voices  : 

"  Seize  Botas !    carry  him    on  to   the 

temple  ;  if  there  's  a  good  omen  he  is 

47 


Statue  in  t&e  3Ur 


innocent."  And  yet  higher  voices, 
leaping  up  above  the  shouts :  "  But 
quick  death  to  the  blasphemer,  —  we 
return." 

No  other  word  was  spoken.  Four 
men  seized  and  raised  Botas  from  the 
ground  ;  the  chorus  leaped  to  earth 
and  vanished  through  the  thicket,  sud 
denly  as  when  a  troop  of  birds  loosen 
their  hold  upon  a  crag,  swing  down 
ward  and  away. 

Then  with  the  velocity  of  a  pan 
ther  Melanion  flung  himself  down,  and 
leaped  upon  the  prostrate  Heliophanes  ; 
he  trod  upon  him,  he  shook  his  fists 
up  against  heaven,  and  lifting  to  the 
darkening  storm-cloud  a  face  whereon 
the  veins  stood  out  like  whipcords, 
he  shouted :  — 

"  Lie  there,  fool !  torn  by  the  fin 
gers  of  friends,  frozen  in  an  avalanche. 
Ah,  but  how  I  lashed  ye,  that  I  would 
have  loved,  led,  crowned  with  the  gifts 
of  my  deathless  inheritance,  —  and  you 
insulted  my  bodily  weakness,  spit  at 
my  deformity,  thrust  me  out  from 
smallest  share  that  poorest  and  mean 
est  among  you  enjoy,  denied  me  man- 
48 


Cfje  Statue  in  t&e  3Ut 


hood.  What  god  stepped  forth  upon 
this  outrage  ?  None  !  I  fled  into  the 
wilderness,  and  beat  my  head  against 
a  precipice  to  kill  myself,  —  but  even 
death  refused  me.  Yet  rocks  were 
softer  to  me  than  human  hearts,  the 
snow  was  warmer.  O  friendless,  home 
less,  childless  that  I  was  !  And  now 
you  concede  me  magic,  I  spurn  your 
souls  into  Chaos.  Imbeciles  !  You  re 
jected  my  love  ;  you  cannot  reject  my 
hate.  Scourged  out  in  my  weakness,  I 
return  in  power  like  a  giant,  panoplied 
in  whirlwind,  shaking  Eros  in  his  sphere 
of  fire,  basing  firmly  the  life  of  Troglo 
dytes  forever.  Rise,  blast  out  of  Chaos ; 
snow  on  every  fruitful  limb,  wound 
leaf  and  bud  to  death.  Winter  grips 
your  land  forever;  the  last  trace  of 
man  is  vanished ;  and  the  valley,  as 
the  highest  mountain,  is  locked  in  ice. 
My  work  is  done.  I  go  again  to  you, 
my  own  hills.  O  you  have  witnessed 
what  I  have  suffered." 

He  ceased  speaking,  and  turned 
away.  Three  harpies  descended,  wheel 
ing  slowly  ;  and  down  into  the  valley 
rolled  the  devouring  Shadow. 

49 


To  the  palace  the  shadow  had  not 
yet  fallen.  Flowers  waved  in  the  sunny 
air,  and  the  wide  palace  opened  its  heart 
to  receive  the  young  chorus.  In  the 
lily-white  court  stood  the  altar  of  Eros, 
blushing  with  roses,  and  all  around  it 
in  a  flood  of  gay  sunshine  the  young 
chorus  danced  to  a  light,  twittering 
music.  O  what  merriment !  now  a 
hush  :  the  leader  had  raised  his  flute. 

"  Listen,  all  of  you.  It  is  far  past 
the  time,  and  no  token  of  the  sacred 
statue.  Nor  have  those  whom  I  sent 
to  spy  out  for  it  returned.  I  will  send 
yet  another  band.  Coroebus ;  thou,  lo- 
laus,  and  thou,  and  thou."  And  laying 
aside  their  garlands,  the  young  men 
called  upon  disappeared  at  a  running 
pace. 

Then  the  leader  dispersed  the  chorus: 
some  strayed  in  couples  with  murmur- 
So 


Statue  in  t(jc  Slit 


ing  and  soft  laughter,  and  others,  flut 
ing  and  tapping  with  their  sandals, 
circled  in  a  little  mimic  dance. 

Bubbling  tumults  seldom  heard 

Make  me  now  a  little  bird ; 

Seven  hang  in  radiant  ease 

On  a  nettle  thin  and  brittle, 

Chanting  like  the  Pleiades. 

Heaven's  orb  I  underrun, 

Fiery,  like  a  little  sun 

Clothed  in  a  feathery  cloud; 

From  the  melodious  blue  a-dropping, 

On  the  water's  edge  a-hopping, 

Printing  all  the  muddy  earth 

With  my  starry  feet,  — 

While  the  water  cold  and  sweet 

Trickles  down  my  pulsing  throat: 

Golden  day  and  glooming  night, 

And  heaven  and  earth,  and  our  delight ! 

"Be  quiet,  children,"  said  the  leader 
playfully,  "  I  think  I  hear  footsteps." 

Into  the  court  swept  a  breeze,  and  a 
beautiful  young  man  leaped  in  among 
the  dancers.  Snow  and  icicles  fell  from 
his  head  and  shoulders,  and  after  him 
ran  the  members  of  the  first  band. 

"  Euphorion  ! "     From  all  sides  the 

chorus  crowded  about  him,  pelting  him 

with  roses,  asking  him,  Where  had  he 

been  ?  and,  Why  was  he  so  late  ?  and 

Si 


H>tattte  in  t&e  3Ur 


he  answered  them  with  a  ruddy  gayety 
and  high-spirited  grace. 

"  O  wonderful,  wonderful,  —  but  you 
won't  believe  me  !  Why,  this  morning 
I  had  forgotten  I  was  the  son  of  Eros, 
until  these  men  met  and  called  me  by 
name.  Then  came  back  to  me  vaguely 
that  last  night  in  the  mountains  I  was 
armed ;  some  business  was  weighing 
upon  my  mind.  But  what  ?  I  can't  rec 
ollect.  Only,  I  know  that  all  during 
my  disturbed  slumber  vast  dreams 
were  waving  their  wings  over  me,  and 
incubi  of  darkness  squatted  upon  my 
breast.  When  I  awoke,  the  sun  had 
risen  ;  my  arms  were  gone,  and  likewise 
all  remembrance  of  my  purpose.  I 
wandered  down  into  the  valley  amazed ; 
when  almost  here,  three  harpies  flew 
over  me,  one  striking  me  with  an  ici- 
cled  wing,  "  Here,  seeing  the  girls 
all  breathless,  an  irresistible  roguery 
seized  him.  "  Why,  then,  I  killed  them 
all !  With  a  prodigious  power  I  hewed 
off  their  heads  ;  the  heads  turned  into 
vultures  and  flew  away ;  their  feathers 
changed  into  snakes  with  bright  emer 
ald  eyes.  Then  I  gathered  the  icicles 
52 


Statue  in  t&e  3U 


in  my  mantle.  There,  there,  you  see 
what  a  quantity !  Oh,  I  tell  you,  I 
had  a  tremendous  time ;  I  tell  you,  had 
it  not  been  for  my  courage  " 

"Ah,  Euphorion,"  said  the  leader, 
laughing,  "  it 's  no  use,  that !  We  all 
know  the  god  of  pranks  has  you  in 
charge,  and  could  easily  bring  you  those 
icicles  in  a  little  wind-sack.  But  look, 
here  comes  the  second  band ;  now  for 
something  important." 

They  came  running,  shouting,  and 
leading  a  young  maiden.  "  A  storm- 
cloud  is  rising  over  the  mountain  !  No 
sign  of  the  statue,  but  here  is  one  who 
will  give  you  her  strange  experience." 
Gently  they  pushed  forward  this  tall 
young  girl,  so  that  she  stood  exactly 
opposite  Euphorion. 

It  was  Leanira. 

When  she  felt  his  eyes  upon  her,  she 
cast  down  her  own  with  a  beautiful 
dignity. 

"  By  Heaven,  a  royal  damsel,  su 
perb  !  "  whispered  the  leader  to  Eupho 
rion.  "Who  is  she?" 

"  I  do  not  know,"  he  murmured  ;  "  I 
53 


C(je  Statue  in  tlje  8U 


think  I  have  seen  her  face  in  a  dream. 
Listen,  she  is  about  to  speak." 

"  My  father  promised  to  bring  me 
here  to  the  festival.  My  first  festival ! 
But  early  in  the  morning  he  sent  me  to 
a  secret  hollow  to  adorn  myself,  and 
because  it  was  so  early  I  fell  asleep. 
Then  a  vision  of  last  night  returned  to 
me,  a  wonderful  dream.  I  thought  I 
beheld  all  the  gods  chanting  in  a  chorus, 
and  that  Eros,  stepping  forward,  placed 
upon  my  heart  a  spray  of  the  sacred 
flower.  And  he  said,  '  Hail  to  thee, 
thou  ward  of  the  Immortals,  that  is  to 
adorn  thee.  Go ;  the  first  spray  thou 
seest,  that  is  thine.'  And  the  spray  so 
burned  me  like  a  fire  that  I  rose  to  my 
feet ;  I  dared  not  linger,  but  turned 
down  to  my  father's  apple-tree.  On 
the  way  I  heard  many  voices,  and  im 
agined  a  chorus  of  Immortals.  But  as 
I  came  closer,  instead  of  gods  and  god 
desses  were  a  crowd  of  men,  who  raised 
a  great  shouting,  and  that  so  startled 
me  I  ran  far  away.  Then  an  immense 
bird,  a  terrible  bird,  flew  over  me,"  - 

"By  Heaven!"    exclaimed    Eupho- 
rion,  "the  harpy  that  struck  me  !  " 
54 


Statue  in  t&e  3Ur 


And  as  he  spoke,  running  before  a 
blast,  three  shadows  floated  over  the 
pavement  ;  then  the  gigantic  birds 
soared  into  a  cloud,  leaving  a  silence  so 
absolute  that  one  heard  trickling  from 
a  broken  vase,  and  the  last  sighing  in 
the  garments  of  the  chorus. 

But  all  those  boys  and  maidens  knelt 
confusedly,  and  prayed  for  some  good 
omen ;  they  besought  Eros  to  send 
his  sacred  statue,  the  five -year -old 
child,  the  God  of  Love.  And  as  they 
prayed,  the  ever-joyous  sun,  rolling  out 
of  a  cloud,  flung  his  light  upon  the  pure 
mantles,  and  all  at  once  the  chorus 
began  to  sing.  « 

Two  alone  of  that  assemblage  had 
not  knelt,  but  remained  standing,  each 
fixed  by  the  magic  of  the  other's  gaze. 
For  to  Leanira  this  young  man  with 
dazzling  eyes,  and  lips  of  wine  and  roses, 
was  more  overwhelming  than  the  har 
pies  ;  while  in  Euphorion's  mind  all 
thought  had  vanished  in  a  blank,  for 
so  the  music  smote  his  senses  into  a 
fragrant  dizziness :  then  a  lightning 
emotion  burst  in  his  heart,  and  over 
flowed  him  like  fire ;  he  darted  to 
55 


Statue  in  t&e  air 


Leanira,  and  snatching  her  fingers  with 
delicate  violence,  spoke  under  his 
breath  :  — 

"  Are  you  indeed  a  ward  of  the  Im 
mortals  ?  Quick !  In  a  far  room  is  a 
harp  fabled  to  have  fallen  from  heaven, 
and  as  a  god  enters  me  I  will  play  for 
you  strains  that  only  Immortals  have 
listened  to." 

As  a  rose  overburdened  by  a  thunder- 
shower,  she  swayed  aside ;  and  yet  she 
did  not  fly,  but  with  an  impetuous 
acquiescence  followed  him  down  court 
and  long  colonnade,  the  music  of  the 
chorus  dissolving  in  the  distance,  until 
in  the  remote  palace  they  came  to 
a  cold,  bare  room,  parted  from  the 
meadow  by  a  peristyle  only,  and  open 
above  to  sky  and  cloud. 

Absolute  silence. 

Nothing  was  here  except  a  harp  clasp 
ing  its  twin  in  the  polished  marble  floor. 
Headlong  Euphorion  flung  himself 
down,  caressing  the  instrument  in  his 
blind  ecstasy ;  gradually  there  ran 
along  under  his  fingers  a  confusion  of 
delicious  sounds.  O  beautiful  —  all  ele 
mental  nature  was  there  mingled,  — 
56 


Or  Statue  in  tfcr  Stir 


sounds  of  seas  and  winds,  swaying 
grasses,  the  last  clinging  of  the  wave 
to  the  shore.  Yet  not  in  reality  the 
sounds  themselves ;  but  as  the  round 
ing  of  a  drop  reminds  one  of  rain,  as  a 
rill's  pebbles  recall  the  singing  current 
of  the  rill,  as  rippled  carvings  upon  the 
sand  sigh  in  the  inward  ear  the  sound 
of  a  breeze,  —  so  it  was  with  this  en 
chanting  music.  Leanira's  soul  dis 
solved  in  a  lovely  chaos  of  emotion,  but 
over  the  harp  the  fluent  air,  gathering 
into  a  cloud,  grew  dazzling-white  like 
marble.  Then  for  a  moment  lifting  his 
hands,  with  ardent  effort  Euphorion 
pressed  each  to  each,  knuckle  to 
knuckle,  thumb  to  thumb ;  relaxed 
them,  and  seized  upon  the  harp  three 
or  four  pellucid  chords. 

With  that  the  ethereal  sphere  took 
shape :  welded,  fair,  firm  as  the  two 
halves  of  an  apple.  As  though  the 
music  wrought  like  an  invisible  chisel, 
two  lovely  thighs  budded  in  the  air  ; 
with  a  sigh  and  a  delicious  tremor,  a 
little  naked  waist  appeared  ;  head,  feet, 
and  arms  were  released,  —  limb  after 
limb,  in  luxurious  secrecy.  O  what 
57 


CIjc  Statue  in  tljc  Sir 


radiant  ideal  was  taking  form  ?  Slowly 
out  of  the  cold  air  was  created  a  marble 
child. 

And  look  !  as  clear  chiselling  water 
envelops  a  pebble,  so  music  with  an 
infantile  mirth  encircling  the  statue,  in 
every  swelling  and  flexure  paradise  un 
folded,  echoing  a  God's  creative  joy. 
Music  played  cunningly  over  the  knees, 
it  sank  soft  as  a  flower-petal  in  the  hol 
low  beyond  the  thigh-joint,  it  fondled 
the  flesh  into  dimples,  thigh  swelled  to 
thigh. 

Straining  over  the  flank,  it  twined 
about  the  little  waist,  ran  with  the 
sweetest  shiver  over  wrist  and  fingers, 
dwelt  in  the  pellucid  hollow  under  the 
shoulder,  embraced  the  childish  breast 
and  arms  :  joy  ran  into  eagerness, 
eagerness  into  ecstasy,  with  unimagina 
ble  swiftness  the  head  was.  reached  ;  it 
murmured  and  eddied  in  the  little  ear, 
it  rippled  in  delightful  locks  around 
the  forehead,  it  formed  the  miracle  of 
brow  and  sightless  eyes  :  the  last  few 
liquid  notes  finished  the  mouth  and  lips 
barely  sprung  apart,  and  all  over  the 
tender,  dimpling,  smiling  shallows  about 
58 


Statue  in  tlje 


the  mouth  and  rounded  cheeks  —  was 
a  vanishing  kiss,  as  upon  water  the 
escaping  ripple  where  a  blossom  has 
lately  fallen,  — 

The  frail  music,  no  longer  retaining 
even  so  delicate  a  passion,  parted  like 
a  bubble  ;  and  the  beautiful  core  was 
rescued  from  the  air. 

It  was  a  five-year-old  child ;  it  was 
the  God  of  Love  ! 

With  a  cry  Euphorion  leaped  to 
Leanira;  a  delicate  shudder  ran  over 
her,  and  she  only  knew  his  arms  encir 
cled  her,  and  in  a  tumult  of  ecstatic 
kisses  their  souls  dissolving  loosened 
into  one,  as  two  ripples  run  together 
upon  the  surface  of  a  pool. 

Hand  in  hand,  for  they  were  so  near 
kin,  they  passed  through  the  open  col 
onnade  into  the  outer  world. 
59 


No  sooner  were  they  gone  than  a 
blast  out  of  the  zenith  swept  the  statue 
to  the  floor,  and  the  roofless  chamber 
was  darkened  by  gigantic  wings. 

"  The  oracle  fulfilled !  A  sacred 
statue  has  entered  the  palace !  " 

Shouting  in  amazement  the  harpies 
swooped  down,  — monstrous  birds  whose 
human  faces  are  forever  white  and  tor 
tured  with  hunger  :  they  hurled  them 
selves  upon  the  image,  pounding,  bat 
tering  it  with  iron  wings  ;  they  tore  at 
it  with  brazen  claws  and  whipped  it 
with  icicles.  But  the  ethereal  sub 
stance  took  no  dint  from  a  force  that 
would  have  uprooted  a  pine,  or  snapped 
the  mast  of  a  war-vessel. 

Then  in  a  rage  the  harpies  yelled : 
"  Back  to  the  abysm !  arouse  the  ut 
most  force  of  the  tempest !  our  day  is 
lost  without  prompt  action  !  " 

Shrieking,  clashing,  shouting,  scatter 
ing  icicles  in  a  whirlwind,  they  darted 
up,  with  angry  ruffling  of  plumes,  into 
the  zenith. 

60 


BUT  out  of  the  palace  Euphorion 
and  Leanira  had  stepped  into  the 
bosom  of  the  titanian  light.  As  upon 
the  first  day,  the  world  was  radiant  with 
new  -  born  flowers,  and  even  to  that 
adorable  distance  where  the  valley 
opened  to  embrace  Ocean,  a  vivid  and 
ardent  blue.  And  a  few  snowflakes 
had  fallen,  a  few  chance  icicles  shaken 
from  the  wings  of  the  harpies,  yet  so 
lightly  that  no  delicate  flower  was  in 
jured,  and  Winter  seemed  playfully  to 
make  love  to  Spring. 

"  O  I  will  love  you  forever  and  ever ; 
this  day  we  are  one  !  "  So  Euphorion 
cried,  sparkling  like  a  fountain ;  and 
again :  "  O  my  Life,  my  Joy !  My 
Love,  what  shall  I  call  you  ?  My  name 
is  Euphorion." 

"  And  mine  is  Leanira." 

Beautiful  surprise ! 

"  What !  really  my  little  playmate  ? 
Oh!"  And  running  beside  her  .and 
61 


CIjc  ^tatut  in  tbe  2Ur 


flinging  his  arms  about  her,  and  sweetly 
tormenting  her  in  his  madness,  he  kept 
crying  :  "  To  Heliophanes  !  and  he  will 
marry  us !  I  wish  we  were  Halcyons 
and  had  wings  to  fly  !  " 

Side  by  side  their  agile  bodies  flashed 
in  the  sunlight,  but  joy  overwhelmed 
them  ;  they  turned  and  clung  to  one 
another  in  such  an  innocent  passion 
that  Leanira's  robe  trembled  like  a  lily, 
and  words  melted  into  kisses  and  passed 
away  in  sighs.  And  now  they  rested 
in  the  shallow  green  half  bounded  by  a 
brook,  and  full  of  happy  flowers  that 
the  sun  lit  with  a  dying  radiance.  She 
began  weaving  a  garland,  while  he 
stared  at  her  with  large  bright  eyes,  as 
a  child  does  at  a  butterfly,  or  a  man  at 
a  goddess. 

"  Didst  thou  never  think  of  me,  dear, 
when  father  took  me  away  and  we  no 
longer  played  together  ?  " 

"Always  I  thought  of  thee,  dear 
love  !  "  he  said. 

At  that  so  tender  word  she  gave  a 

little  voluptuous  cry,  and  drawing  his 

fair  head  down  to  her  bosom,  with  an 

almost  maternal  joy  she  breathed  upon 

62 


Statue  in  t&e  2Ur 


his  curls.  "  Surely,  my  beloved,  thou 
art  the  son  of  a  god,  for  never  man 
begotten  by  man  has  created  as 
thou." 

"  Ah,  I  am  the  son  of  Eros  !  Never 
has  my  father  noticed  me,  but  now  he 
will  do  so :  we  shall  eat  honey  out  of 
heaven,  and  ride  in  a  chariot  snatched 
away  by  golden  eagles ;  like  the  gods 
we  shall  be  immortal,  and  whenever  we 
please,  fly  away  to  the  sun." 

"  And  there  thou  shalt  have  a  sword 
of  fire,  and  I  a  garland  of  Olympian 
flowers ;  all  day  we  shall  dance  in  the 
dazzling  sunlight ! " 

"And  far  beyond  the  furthest  stream 
of  Ocean,  dwell  in  a  cloud-palace  all 
silver  and  pearl,  and  full  of  loud  Hes 
perian  music  !  " 

With  vivid  endearments  they  flung 
themselves  heart  to  heart ;  then  rose 
and  ran  along  a  little  path,  or  lingered 
to  pluck  flowers,  playing  like  children 
of  the  gods,  or  men  and  women  in  the 
sublime  infancy  of  the  world.  Mean 
while  all  those  fair  meadows  were  dark 
ening,  and  titanic  snow-clouds  heaving 
their  shoulders  against  heaven.  Lea- 
63 


§tatuc  in  tijr  3Lit 


nira  shivered ;  but  Euphorion,  drawing 
her  seriously  into  his  arms,  said  :  — 

"  Listen,  dear  heart  and  best-be 
loved.  I  am  afraid  for  thy  own  sake. 
That  you  see  is  a  storm  out  of  the 
Troglodyte  Abyss ;  we  are  far  from 
Heliophanes',  but  close  by  is  the  Cave 
of  Love.  Let  us  take  shelter  there  one 
moment ;  for  at  this  season  a  storm 
may  be  heavy,  but  cannot  possibly  last 
long." 

She   approved   what    he   said ;    she 
locked  her  hand  in  his  ;  and  side  by 
side  they  flew  into  a  dark  ravine. 
64 


ONWARD  they  flew,  and  came  in 
the  herculean  twilight  to  a  marble  stair, 
beyond  which  a  cavern  sank  into  the 
eternal  rock.  Robust  fragments,  joined 
without  cement,  formed  an  archway 
embraced  by  flowering  apple-trees,  over 
whose  boughs  roses  clambered  and 
threw  into  the  lonely  air  a  voluptuous 
odor  ;  and  all  the  space  from  cave  to 
escarpment  was  swept  by  a  shadowy 
verdure.  For  the  entire  valley  had 
now  sunken  into  that  eclipse-like  gloom  ; 
save  where  the  cavern  yawned  before 
the  lovers,  deeper  than  a  dark  abyss. 
O  what  charming,  terrifying  emotion 
seized  upon  Leanira  !  Tears  started  to 
her  eyes,  and  she  clung  to  Euphorion. 

"  What  cave  is  this  ?  what  stair  ? " 

"Have  I  not  told  you  ?  — the  Cave 
of  Love." 

He  would  have  drawn  her  up  the 
escarpment,  but  she  hesitated  and 
clung  to  him. 

65 


Statue  in  t&e  air 


"  Is  it  not  lonely,  the  cave  ?  and  ah 
so  dark !  Pray,  Euphorion,  do  not  let  us 
go  into  it." 

"  But  we  must,  my  Beautiful.  It  is 
our  sole  shelter,  and  in  such  a  storm 
thou  mightest  die.  Or  take  this, 
Sweetest,  to  thy  comfort  ;  it  is  an  in 
violable  sanctuary  :  were  the  valley  torn 
from  end  to  end,  this  spot  would  remain 
intact." 

Leanira  turned  about,  feeling  shame 
for  her  weakness,  but  all  of  a  sudden 
losing  control,  she  flung  herself  upon 
him  in  a  tumult,  and  wept,  and  shud 
dered  in  her  frock,  as  a  little  bird  trem 
bles  in  its  feathers. 

"  My  dearest  love  !  then  you  really 
are  afraid  ? "  cried  Euphorion  in  sore 
distress. 

"No,  Euphorion,  not  afraid,  only  — 
Oh,  my  darling,  such  a  strange  terror  is 
strangling  my  heart  !  It  is  as  though 
something  frightful  were  about  to  hap 
pen  to  us  in  that  cave  ;  it  is  as  though, 
instead  of  marrying,  we  two  should 
die." 

"  O  my  love  !  Such  ill-omened 
words  "  — 

66 


IL  be  Statue  in  the  .3tr 


"  Oh,  but  Euphorion,  see  !  it  is  all 
so  sudden,  my  meeting  you  at  the  festi 
val,  the  dreadful  tempest,  the  lonely 
cave,  —  it  is  all  so  terrifying  and  beau 
tiful,  like  a  dream.  Oh,  Euphorion ! 
surely  we  shall  die,  or  else  I  shall 
awaken  to  find  you  were  a  dream." 

"  Hush,  hush,  my  own !  Are  you  not 
a  ward  of  the  Immortals  ?  am  I  not  a 
son  of  Eros  ?  O  believe  me,  our  love 
is  not  even  as  that  of  earthly  beings  ; 
it  is  immortal.  Remember  the  little 
statue  that  was  created  in  the  air." 

He  kissed  away  the  tears  from  her 
quivering  eyelids,  for  she  had  flung  her 
head  back,  turning  pale  to  the  lips  :  on 
her  cheeks  the  flowers  of  life  seemed 
to  faint  into  the  snows  of  death.  At 
last,  drawing  herself  up  with  a  despair 
ing  effort,  she  followed  him  into  the 
cave.  Here,  seated  in  a  darkness  so 
profound  he  hardly  saw  her  face,  Eu 
phorion  wrapped  her  in  his  mantle,  for 
already  the  roses  were  dropping  from 
their  stems,  and  the  water  had  con 
gealed  along  the  sides  of  the  cave.  She 
did  not  speak  again  of  death,  —  she  did 
not  speak,  and  yet  in  her  brooding  si- 
67 


Oe  Statue  in  the  Sir 


lence  he  imagined  that  she  thought  it. 
Finally  he  felt  her  breath  brood  over 
his  throat  and  cheek,  and  her  two 
arms  spread  over  him,  as  a  mother-bird 
spreads  her  soft  wings  in  order  to  shield 
her  young. 

"  Dearest  One,  I  have  something  to 
show  thee.  Dost  thou  remember  that 
in  the  palace  I  said  the  God  of  Love 
gave  me  a  spray  of  the  sacred  flower  ? 
See,  here  it  is  upon  my  heart :  I  covered 
it,  so  the  cold  could  not  nip  it.  Take 
it  with  thy  own  hand,  dear  love  :  it  is  a 
spray  sent  us  from  heaven  ;  and  if  ever 
thou  art  in  danger,  I  believe  it  will  pro 
tect  thee." 

A  sudden  pang  awoke  in  Euphorion's 
heart.  "  Ah,  my  darling,  keep  it  thy 
self!" 

"  No,  Euphorion,  but  thou ;  for  thou 
thyself  wilt  protect  me." 

She  had  opened  her  tunic  ;  and  his 
blind,  trembling  hand,  feeling  over  her 
bosom,  plucked  from  the  heart  of  his 
love  the  mystical  flower. 

Then  with  a  long  sigh  she  abandoned 
herself  in  his  arms.  "  Can  it  be  the 
cold,  or  flowers  that  exhale  some  sweet 
68 


(TI)c  Statue  in  tljc  3i 


poison  ?     My  eyelids  are  drooping  so 
heavily." 

"  Have  no  fear,  my  darling.  Early 
morning  has  fallen  back  into  the  arms 
of  midnight,  and  the  Sun  himself  has 
gone  to  sleep.  Sleep  thou,  too,  my 
Beautiful ;  I  guard  thee." 

Leanira  closed  her  eyes  ;  her  beauti 
ful  arms  relaxed,  her  fingers  fell  open  : 
she  was  asleep. 

A  singular  sleep,  very  like  death  ! 
Meanwhile  the  wind  blew  the  rose- 
petals  in  a  frozen  shower  over  the  es 
carpment  ;  the  immeasurable  twilight 
had  deepened  ;  hail,  sleet,  snow,  min 
gled  in  a  hurricane,  went  howling  along 
the  valley,  and  pierced  above  by  the 
lightning :  for  this  was  no  natural 
storm,  but  every  god  and  every  power 
was  warring  in  his  own  element. 
69 


HIGH  above  the  Troglodyte  Abyss 
streamed  the  black  banners  of  Chaos. 
Stones,  spit  forth  with  velocity,  struck 
and  rebounded  with  the  noise  of  ham 
mers  ;  and  a  subterranean  dark  was 
blurted  against  the  sun,  broad-buck 
lered  clouds  battling  with  thunder- 
flashes  of  light.  Through  such  a 
turmoil  a  whistling  hallo,  and  the 
harpies  shot  straight  into  the  Endless 
Dark. 

"  Hear,  ye  Powers  of  Chaos  !  We 
bear  disastrous  news,  if  ye  be  not  sud 
den  and  courageous.  Part  of  the  ora 
cle  is  fulfilled  :  a  sacred  statue  has 
entered  the  palace.  We  saw  it  with 
our  eyes,  and  with  our  wings  we  tried 
to  destroy  it,  but  the  immortal  sub 
stance  yielded  not  to  our  blows. 
Hearken  to  the  manner  of  its  coming  : 
the  son  of  Eros,  meeting  by  chance 
Heliophanes'  daughter,  their  love  cre 
ated  this  caprice  in  the  air.  As  we 
70 


Statue  in  tfce  Stir 


tumbled  in  the  clouds  of  the  zenith,  we 
heard  far-away  strains  of  music,  for  he 
played  upon  a  fabulous  harp ;  we  darted 
down  too  late  :  the  statue  was  finished 
and  the  lovers  had  fled." 

At  this  Melanion  began  cursing  in  a 
wild  fury,  and  there  was  vast  confusion 
among  the  monsters,  interrupted  by 
the  second  harpy  in  a  loud  voice  :  — 

"  Hear  what  I  advise,  and  let  us  act 
quickly.  Ye  know  behind  the  Cave 
of  Love  is  a  second  opening  into  the 
Troglodyte  Abyss,  —  one  that  is  un 
known  to  men ;  and  between  the  gulf 
and  the  cave  so  thin  is  the  rock  that  at 
times  we  have  torn  it  apart  or  welded 
it  together  at  will.  Ye  remember  how, 
when  Eros  dwelt  in  this  cave,  and  even 
after  Euphorion  was  born,  —  being  ig 
norant  of  the  slight  barrier  that  divided 
him  from  Chaos,  —  one  evening  we  dis 
solved  the  wall,  and  in  the  opening 
appeared  Troglodytes,  at  which  sight 
Love's  mortal  wife  died  of  terror.  Now 
again,  Euphorion  and  Leanira  are  in 
this  sanctuary,  for  we  saw  them  fly 
there :  thither  also  will  the  people  of 
the  valley  flock  in  their  extremity.  We 


(T(je  Statue  in  tljc  Sir 


advise  that  the  wall  be  suddenly  ripped, 
so  that  the  blast  and  vomit  of  Chaos 
shall  instantly  smite  Euphorion  and* the 
chorus,  and  thence  plunging  down  the 
valley,  bury  the  miraculous  statue 
under  mountains  of  ice.  We  three 
could  effect  little,  the  storm  may  not 
effect  all ;  but  now  let  Chaos  put  forth 
his  entire  strength,  and  Darkness  her 
full  fury." 

He  ceased,  and  a  roaring  rushed 
through  that  multitude  of  monsters, 
swelling  into  the  barbaric  chant :  — 

"O  Father  Chaos,  now  breathe  up 
through  the  broken  ribs  of  Earth.  Let 
a  breath  rise  out  of  that  bottomless 
cold  that  shall  shrivel  earth  and  scorch 
the  sun.  O  Darkness,  rise,  envelop  the 
world ;  and  let  not  the  sun  move,  but 
let  the  fatal  day  roll  onward,  hour  upon 
hour,  until  the  valley  is  sheathed  in 
everlasting  ice.  Rise,  blast  and  brume 
of  Chaos ;  Giants  of  Darkness,  soar, 
and  heave  the  clouds  over  land  and 
ocean,  and  be  the  statue  burst  with 
cold,  since  force  cannot  affect  it.  But 
for  this  child  of  Eros,  who  so  suddenly 
has  created,  this  hero  who  should  van- 
72 


Statue  in  t&e  air 


quish  Troglodytes,  behold,  he  is  him 
self  vanquished ;  he  is  torn  from  his 
love,  body  and  soul  he  is  thrust  down 
into  Chaos.  Now  the  bond  of  Love  is 
dissolved  in  Death." 

The  choral  chant  mingled  upward 
into  the  roaring  blast,  and  downward 
into  Chaos.  Hugest  of  the  monsters, 
Typhon,  and  hundred-armed  giants, 
were  dispatched  to  rip  the  wall ;  sus 
pended  upon  gigantic  wings,  they  di 
vided  the  torrent  of  air  down  into  the 
abysm. 

73 


EUPHORION  still  sat  in  the  cave  with 
Leanira  pressed  to  his  heart.  Without 
was  that  unspeakable  darkness  heavy 
with  twigs  and  flying  branches.  Of  a 
sudden,  earth  shook  with  a  concus 
sion,  and  stones  rolled  over  the  floor. 
Leanira  started  to  her  feet,  Euphorion 
to  his  :  in  the  dark  he  tried  to  seize 
her ;  she,  to  avoid  him. 

"  Leanira ! " 

Out  of  the  obscurity  came  a  sobbing, 
distracted  voice  :  "  Whither  shall  I  fly  ? 
why  would  you  kill  me  ? "  then  a 
scream  :  "  Save  me,  Heaven,  from  the 
abysm  !  " 

"  Leanira !  Leanira  !  "  Euphorion 
was  groping  helplessly,  heart-broken, 
stammering  like  a  bewildered  child. 
"  It  is  some  hideous  dream,  —  only  a 
dream,  my  darling  !  Had  I  a  light  " — 

A  lance  of  the  flowing  lightning  lit 
the  cavern  to  the  extremity,  where  a 
yawning  cleft  panted  forth  thick  rivers 
74 


(Lbt  Statue  in  t!;r  2Ur 

of  smoke,  and  corseleted  in  that  dun 
vapor  appeared  the  terrible  form  of 
Troglodytes. 

With  an  agonized  cry  Leanira  fled 
into  the  tempest.  Euphorion  clutched 
at  his  belt  and  beat  his  head,  —  sprang 
after  and  seized  her. 

"  Monster  !  "  She  tore  the  fastening 
out  of  her  tunic,  and  with  the  blind 
ferocity  of  a  tigress,  drove  it  into  his 
arm  ;  he  repulsed  her  ;  she  was  swept 
down  the  escarpment  and  fainted  at 
the  base,  while  he,  stumbling  back, 
plucked  from  his  flesh  the  poisonous 
fang.  Then  lifting  his  white  face  to 
the  black  and  howling  heavens,  he  ut 
tered  an  awful  cry.  And  his  cry  came 
back  to  him,  echoed  and  reechoed  from 
all  points  of  the  laboring  darkness,  — 
hundreds  of  wailing  cries,  a  chorus  of 
dismay  ;  and  running  up  the  escarp 
ment  came  myriads  of  struggling  hu 
man  forms,  —  of  faces  pale  as  ashes 
driven  before  the  blast. 
75 


"  O  GOD  !  "  exclaimed  the  leader  of 
the   elder    chorus,    "  here   at    last !  - 
refuge,  the  Cave  of  Love  !  " 

"  Back,  madman  !  Do  you  leap  for 
life  into  the  Troglodyte  Abyss  ?  " 

"Euphorion!"  halloed  the  leader; 
and  others  of  the  chorus,  straining  up  : 
"  Why,  the  cave  is  spouting  streams  of 
smoke  and  mud  !  " 

Then  a  widespread  terror,  caught  up 
with  velocity  by  those  behind.  Men 
turned  hither  and  thither,  but  upon  the 
very  crest  of  the  moment  a  bituminous 
torrent,  rolling  out  of  the  cave,  plunged 
down  the  escarpment  and  swung  again 
to  the  cliff.  Upon  the  farther  bank 
stood  Botas,  holding  Leanira ;  he  ges 
tured  in  despair  through  the  wreaths 
of  smoke,  then  hastened  away  with  her, 
or  was  swept  by  the  wind  into  the 
gloom.  But  the  chorus,  imprisoned 
upon  the  frozen  island,  flung  them- 
76 


CL  hr  § tatttc  in  the  3i 


selves  down  in  a  last  appeal  to  the 
gods. 

"  Euphorion,  pray  for  us !  Helio- 
phanes  has  ruined  us  !  Call  loud  to 
the  gods,  oh  thou  beautiful  One  !  even 
out  of  the  depths  of  darkness  the  gods 
will  hear  thee." 

"  Hear  me  ?  None  so  hateful  to  the 
gods  as  I. 

"  Behold  me,  the  Troglodyte-slayer  ! 

"  I  dreamed  it  in  my  dreams  ;  I  heard 
it  shouted  at  my  ear  by  the  thunder- 
voices  of  the  gods ;  I  rode  on  to  my 
destiny  before  the  banners  of  the  gale. 
To  what  purpose  ?  A  cobweb  slumber 
wipes  all  from  my  mind.  A  woman  — 
what !  a  monster  out  of  hell  has  hurled 
down  upon  us  this  ruin." 

"  O  Euphorion,  would  God  we  might 
save  thee  !  thou  art  mad,  Euphorion ; 
the  fatal,  bewildering  darkness  stran 
gles  thee  with  floods  of  chaos,  and  com 
pels  thee  to  utter  the  voice  of  the 
blasphemer." 

Like  the  jaws  of  a  monster  was  the 
cave  fanged  with  icicles  ;  and  shaken 
like  a  willow  upon  the  brink  of  that  in 
fernal  torrent  Euphorion  flung  out  his 
77 


(ZT&e  §>tattte  in  t&e  air 


arms  to  the  ferocious  dark.  A  blazing 
and  reechoing  darkness  !  for  wherever 
the  sharp  wind  tore  the  vitals  of  heaven, 
light  gushed  in  rivers  down  the  steep 
of^  night,  and  the  valley  was  lit  up  with 
flashes  alternating  with  dreadful  gloom. 

"  Oh,  ye  gods,  how  was  I  unworthy  ? 
Tell  it  to  me,  Heaven,  with  a  thun 
derbolt  through  my  heart.  What !  you 
spoke  it  to  me  distinctly,  —  but  all  na 
ture  has  gone  mad.  Crags,  root  in  the 
sky  ;  streams,  flow  up  to  your  sources  ; 
stars,  plunge  and  stab  ocean,  —  since 
murderous  midnight  leaps  upon  mid 
day,  and  love  vomits  chaos." 

Earth  cried  aloud  in  all  her  deep 
basins  and  vaulted  corridors ;  her  an 
cient  foundations  seemed  to  labor  to 
the  upward  marching  of  the  Powers  of 
Darkness,  till  beneath  that  confused 
heaven,  lacerated  with  vermilion  fire, 
was  blown  the  vast  dissonance.  "  Trog 
lodytes,  Troglodytes  !  "  cried  the  human 
chorus,  and  as  far  as  the  limit  of  the 
frozen  island  they  pressed  back,  and 
Euphorion  stood  alone.  He  felt  with 
his  benumbed  fingers  for  a  knife  ;  what 
he  drew  forth  was  the  shrivelled  spray, 
78 


Statue  in  tljc  3Ut 


the  same  given  him  by  Leanira.  When 
he  had  clutched  that  fatal,  bitter  spray, 
he  cursed  it ;  like  a  torch  overborne  in 
the  night-tempest,  his  love  blew  out, 
the  cold  of  chaos  seized  upon  his  heart 
and  ate  into  his  vitals  ;  he  reeled  in  the 
last  flash  of  the  sun  and  dropped. 

Out  of  the  cave  broke  Melanion  upon 
a  harpy,  exulting ;  monsters  hurried 
forth  in  legions,  all  muitiformed,  mal 
formed  distortions,  roaring  a  chant  that 
shook  the  convulsive  ether  from  plain 
to  firmament ;  'and  with  them  and  after 
them  an  immeasurable  column  of  bistre 
hurled  itself  against  the  zenith,  —  then 
like  a  thunder-clap  total  darkness  fell 
over  earth.  Far  at  sea  the  waves 
dashed  the  blind  ships  upon  the  rocks, 
mast  and  keel  snapping  like  poppy 
stems.  And  the  powers  of  cold  built 
as  an  impermeable  barrier  an  iron  cloud 
between  heaven  and  earth,  and  scourged 
the  miraculous  statue  ;  the  dark  blast 
roared  in  the  temple,  and  around  the 
altar  smitten  and  piled  with  snow,  it 
blew  withered  leaves  over  the  hearths 
of  ruined  homes,  the  cattle  and  small 
calves  breathed  away  their  lives  upon 
79 


<L\)t  Statue  in 


the  snow.  No  longer  any  human  being 
spoke  or  moved,  but  where  each  stood, 
there  he  fainted  away.  Betas,  strug 
gling  to  escape  with  Leanira,  was 
stricken  down ;  the  swooning  Helio- 
phanes,  wound  from  neck  to  heel  in 
snow ;  while  before  the  Cave  of  Love, 
now  black  as  the  Troglodyte  Abyss, 
the  son  of  Eros  and  the  chorus  lay 
dying,  soul  and  body  dissolving  into 
chaos. 

80 


YES,  high  above  darkness  and  the 
storm,  in  that  forever  brilliant  sphere 
which  is  the  dwelling-place  of  Immor 
tals,  Love  himself  was  powerless  to 
save.  Incessantly  the  youthful  god 
had  flung  himself  upon  the  iron  cloud  ; 
beating  it  with  his  soft  wings,  he  wept, 
he  shuddered  like  a  frail  flower  upon 
its  stem. 

"  O  Apollo,  save  my  dear  son  and  the 
wife  I  have  created  for  him  !  Darkness 
has  gained  power  to  swerve  Fate  ;  I  am 
barred  from  earth.  O,  how  awful  the 
tempest !  The  sun,  strangled  in  mid- 
course,  is  unable  to  move  ;  the  hideous, 
fatal  day  rushes  on  beyond  all  natural 
limit ;  a  few  moments,  and  all,  all  of 
my  own  are  devoured  back  into  chaos. 
Could  I  but  pierce  the  cloud  !  Were 
even  a  small  opening  made,  I  might 
rend  it  asunder ;  then  thou  to  earth,  I 
to  remain  here  to  combat  the  powers 
of  Darkness." 

81 


Statue  in  tfce  Sir 


"  O  Eros  !  in  what  possible  way  can 
I  help  thee  ?  Make  to  thyself  a  new 
valley,  a  new  race,  for  no  god  can  now 
reach  earth,  and  weak  humanity,  left  to 
resist  the  gigantic  powers  of  Chaos, 
must  inevitably  die." 
82 


§£>art  3 
1 

APOLLO  wept.  But  Eros,  drawing 
himself  erect,  with  tearless  eyes  sighed 
out  of  his  agony  :  "  Yet  hast  thou  seen 
that  when  Euphorion  met  Leanira  a 
sacred  statue  was  created  in  the  air? 
Hast  thou  seen  how  the  harpies  strove 
in  vain  to  destroy  it,  and  the  blast  has 
shaken  it,  and  icicles  have  buried  it 
in  vain  ?  Didst  thou  know  it  ?  And 
nothing  could  harm  it !  O  where,  in 
the  long  procession  of  the  ages,  has 
there  been  a  miracle  like  this,  that  a 
being  subject  to  death  should  create  ? 
I  was  firstborn  of  all  the  gods,  and  I 
have  seen  heaven  part  from  earth  like 
a  bubble,  and  mountains  pass  away  like 
drops  of  dew,  but  never  this  new  won 
der.  And  barred  from  earth  by  the 
will  of  Fate  I  have  prayed  continually 
for  some  whisper  out  of  the  bosom  of 
the  Eternal." 

83 


Cfje  &tatttt  in  tfce  Si 


Eros  listened,  and  gradually,  as 
dawn  dies  into  day,  came  over  him  a 
rosy  flush  that  kindled  in  a  sparkling 
smile,  and  this  again  issued  in  rapid 
words :  — 

"  That  man  should  inspire  Thought 
into  the  material,  and  out  of  the  form 
less  wrest  immortal  Beauty !  When 
has  Earth  known  this  marvel  since 
God  sang  her  into  being  ?  For  never 
fire,  cataracts,  nor  deeply  roaring 
Ocean  —  lions,  those  terrestrial  light 
nings,  —  nor  all  the  innumerable  toiling 
swarms  that  dwell  in  the  restless  air 
and  ever-moving  waters,  have  been 
able  to  create.  And  behold  the  reason 
why  the  storm  could  not  dash  that 
image  into  fragments,  nor  cold  destroy 
it  :  Echoing  the  thought  of  God,  it 
sprang  out  of  the  imperishable  soul. 

"Man,  like  God,  has  created, — oh 
marvel,  oh  miracle  beyond  conception, 
—  that  mortal  being  should  through 
love  raise  himself  to  the  celestial !  " 

And,  with   that   word,    Eros   shook 

flames  from  his  shoulders  like  plumes  ; 

fire  burst  out  of  his  hips,  his  thighs, 

and   heart ;    and   from    his  streaming 

84 


C(je  Statue  in  tjjc  Sir 


hair,  astonished  eyes  and  lips,  carna 
tion,  so  wreathing  him  in  an  aureole 
like  the  petals  of  a  blazing  and  symmet 
rical  rose,  out  of  whose  palpitating  vor 
tex  a  voice  like  a  soaring  conflagration : 
"  As  God  created  in  the  chaotic  ether 
a  mighty  universe,  and  I,  Eros,  sprang 
forth,  so  man,  and  even  as  death  was 
overwhelming  him,  has  created  in  ether 
a  little  universe,  a  small  Eros.  Chaos 
and  Death  can  not  subdue  him,  for 
even  we,  the  deathless,  are  with  that 
creative  power  but  passively  endowed ; 
while  he,  spontaneously  creating,  has 
proved  himself  a  child  of  the  Eternal." 
And  dazed,  half-blinded,  even  though 
a  god,  Apollo  saw  this  incorporeal  heat 
turn  himself  with  an  astounding  mus 
cular  velocity,  expand,  and  soar  upward 
to  inconceivable  height,  the  rose  of 
flame  now  wheeling  about  him  in  gigan 
tic  convolutions  that  flooded  all  heaven 
with  an  incandescent  vapor.  As  a 
cloud  at  sunset  builds  his  flaming  bat 
tlements  upon  the  limits  of  the  uni 
verse,  so  Eros  towered  aloft,  a  ruddy 
and  exorbitant  glory,  and  out  of  the 
heart  of  this  glory  the  joyous  titanic 


Clje  Stattte  in  t&e  9Ur 


voice  still  chanted  :  "  Man,  like  God, 
has  created ! "  and  so  chanting,  the 
whole  enormous  wheeling  aureole  of 
fire  rushed  upon  the  iron  cloud,  that 
burst  with  sonorous  claps  of  thunder 
and  dissolved  in  rainbows. 

Shuddering,  Apollo  slid  his  glorious 
limbs  through  the  opening,  and  sped 
along  a  beam  that  drove  like  a  sword 
through  the  body  of  Darkness. 
86 


EXACTLY  where  Heliophanes,  blinded 
by  Melanion,  had  fallen,  Apollo  dropped 
like  a  meteor.  As  his  heels  struck 
earth,  sparks  flew  up,  and  snow  and 
air  blossomed  in  gold :  around  him 
grew  an  ever-widening  light,  and  all 
within  its  circumference  the  tempest 
was  hushed.  Apollo  leaned  over  the 
prophet,  in  whose  throat  life  barely 
fluttered,  and  placing  lips  to  his  ear 
sighed.  When  that  breath  had  sunken 
into  the  lifeless  hollow  of  his  ear  and 
touched  his  tired  spirit,  Heliophanes 
sighed  also  and  awoke.  Behold !  he 
was  wrapped  in  the  delicate  golden 
ether  that  exudes  from  the  body  of  an 
Immortal.  For  the  divine  radiance 
piercing  even  his  blindness,  life  and 
memory  flooded  the  soul  of  Helio 
phanes  :  he  flung  himself  joyously  at 
the  feet  of  the  god ;  but  the  glorious 
One,  dropping  a  finger  upon  his  lip, 
revealed  to  him  all,  —  the  league  of  the 
87 


in 


dark  powers  and  the  guile  of  Mela- 
nion,  the  creation  of  the  statue,  the 
second  opening  into  the  Troglodyte 

Abyss,  and  finally  he  concluded  : 

"Thus    was    it    given    these    dark 
powers  to  swerve  the  will  of  Fate,  and 
lo  !  the  very  swerving  moves  on  toward 
the  glorious  end.    For  in  this  swerving, 
as   in   an   eddy,  that  fair  caprice  was 
created ;  and  it  was  by  this  token,  that 
man,  like   God,  creates,  —  that   Eros 
tore  the  iron  cloud,  and  I  descended  to 
declare  unto  thee  that  love,  tender  love, 
human  love,  has   defeated   the  giants 
of  Chaos,  and  their  own  device  has  be 
come  their  final  overthrow.     For  look  : 
the  dark  powers  dispersed  in  upper  air 
no  longer  guard  the  Troglodyte  Abyss. 
This  lies  open  at  the  readiest  point  of 
descent,  — the  Cave   of    Love.      And 
there   lies  Euphorion.     To  him!  with 
heaven-inspired  lips  awaken  him  :  now, 
now  should   he  leap   into   the   abyss. 
Yet  now  it  must  be  by  his  own  choice. 
Like  God  he  has  created,  like  God  he 
is  free  to  choose.     If  he  choose  to  leap, 
then  the  sacrificial  knife  is  in  thy  hand  ; 
give   it   to    him    for    a  weapon;  this 
88 


Statue  in  tlje  3Ur 


branch  I  tear  from  the  sacred  tree 
thou  shalt  give  him  for  a  torch.  Has 
ten, —  a  winged  messenger  of  Heaven 
shall  guide  thee.  Nor  have  fear  for 
thy  daughter;  Botas  has  rescued  and 
will  guard  her.  But  run  quickly,  for 
should  the  natural  warmth  rouse  the 
chorus,  they  would  seize  Euphorion 
and  slay  thee.  And  now  the  storm 
has  sunken  to  a  breeze  ;  dark  shadows 
sweep  over  the  sky,  the  wings  of  the 
retreating  harpies.  Run,  —  hasten  to 
Euphorion  ;  I  fly  to  the  upper  air,  to 
combat  with  Eros  the  powers  of  Cold 
and  Darkness." 

He  ceased,  and  vanished  in  a  golden 
cloud.  From  zenith  to  horizon,  the 
vapor  was  rent  in  huge  mountainous 
masses  over  which  the  sun  poured  cat 
aracts  of  pure  silver ;  a  soft-feathered 
eagle  descended,  fanning  the  prophet 
with  his  wings ;  and  Heliophanes  sprang 
forward  over  brilliantly  sparkling  snow. 

-T      > 


IN  a  wild  part  of  the  valley,  near  the 
Cave  of  Love,  Botas  was  pressing 
Leanira  to  his  heart,  warming  her  to 
life.  Everywhere,  save  for  a  few  clots, 
the  snow  had  vanished,  and  the  beau 
tiful,  cloudless  heaven  gave  forth  a 
caressing  breath. 

As  she  revived,  Leanira  turned  upon 
the  herdsman  a  startled  look,  then 
breaking  into  tears,  cried :  "  O  Botas, 
dear  Botas,  let  me  die  in  the  snow  !  " 
And  she  dropped  face  down,  refusing 
to  speak  or  move. 

Botas  was  perplexed.  He  was  afraid 
to  touch  her  with  his  rough,  awkward 
hand.  He  got  up  on  his  feet,  and 
looked  helplessly  about.  Presently 
from  a  'leafless  thicket  he  heard  a 
twitter  of  voices,  and  running  for 
ward,  met  a  whole  chorus  of  maidens. 

"  Heaven  be  thanked  !  Kind  ladies, 
gentle  ladies,  I  beg  you,  come  speak 
to  my  foster-daughter  ;  she  has  been 
90 


Cbc  Statue  in  t(jr  air 


crazed  by  that  dreadful  tempest,  but 
perhaps  you  may  be  able  to  rouse  her." 

The  maidens  replied:  "We  may  stop 
but  a  moment :  we  are  bearing  a  sacred 
statue  to  the  Cave  of  Love." 

"  What  is  that  statue  ?  "  said  Botas. 

"  A  divine  statue  we  discovered. 
During  the  storm  we  were  driven  into 
a  remote  part  of  the  palace,  and  there 
all  of  us  became  unconscious.  When 
we  revived,  the  sun  was  shining  clear, 
and  behold !  a  wonder  of  a  statue. 
Then  we  knew  that  Eros  himself  had 
visited  earth,  checked  the  storm,  and 
saved  us ;  and  that  he  carved  this 
image  in  token  of  his  affection.  So  we 
lifted  it,  and  all  agreed  to  go  at  once 
and  enshrine  it  in  the  Cave  of  Love, 
lest  ever  that  terrible  tempest  fall 
upon  us  again." 

The  ranks  parted,  and  there  in  the 
midst,  and  borne  by  two  lovely  girls, 
was  the  statue  created  in  the  air. 

When  Botas  saw  it  he  exclaimed, 
"Indeed  the  hand  of  a  god."  And  he 
fell  down  upon  his  knees,  touching  the 
little  feet  with  simplicity,  and  kissing 
them  with  awe.  Rising,  he  said :  "  I 
91 


Or  Statue  in  tljc  Sir 


beg  you,  kind  friends,  bring  the  statue 
this  way  ;  if  we  place  her  at  his  feet 
the  god  will  pity  her." 

Leanira  recognized  the  smiling 
image ;  irresistibly  she  embraced  it, 
weeping  ;  at  that  heavenly  touch  all 
her  grief,  her  terror,  her  hatred  against 
Euphorion,  melted  away  as  snow  before 
the  face  of  the  sun,  or  as  darkness  flees 
before  light. 

At  length  Botas,  taking  gentle  hold 
of  her,  said  :  "  Dear  child,  we  must  now 
let  the  statue  go,  these  maidens  are 
about  to  enshrine  it  in  the  Cave  of  Love. 
For  it  is  a  sacred  statue  ;  Eros  himself 
has  just  visited  earth  and  wrought  it." 

Leanira  sprang  to  her  feet,  for  into 
her  heart  a  great  light  had  broken. 

"  No,  no,  Botas,  oh  never !  It  was 
the  son  of  Eros,  not  Eros,  and  yet  it 
was  Eros  ;  for  this  morning,  when  Eu 
phorion  met  me  in  the  palace,  he  led 
me  to  a  secret  chamber,  where  he 
played  upon  a  harp,  and  it  was  our  love 
that  created  this  statue  in  the  air." 

"  She  is  mad  !  "   some  of  the  girls 
said  ;  and  others,  "How  strange  that 
she  should  know  where  we  found  it." 
92 


Statue  in  tftc 


But  Leanira,  with  an  impassioned 
gesture,  cried  :  "  Oh,  believe  me,  it  was 
Euphorion.  He  is  my  love,  and  I  am 
his  ;  this  day  was  to  be  our  bridal,  but 
the  storm  overtook  us  at  the  Cave  of 
Love,  and  how  it  was  —  let  me  not 
speak  of  it  now !  —  that  we  parted  in 
such  fury  and  anger.  My  own  fault, 
for  he  did  nothing.  Mercy  on  me,  what 
a  dreadful  thought !  Kind  friends,  dear 
friends,  I  do  beg  you  delay  but  a  mo 
ment  ;  let  me  run  back  to  the  cave, 
let  me  be  first  to  see  him,  for  should 
he  see  this  statue  before  he  does  me, 
it  would  grieve  him  deeply,  and  break 
my  heart.  Indeed,  I  am  most  un 
worthy,  but  he,  —  he  is  beautiful,  he 
is  noble  beyond  conception.  —  Look,  I 
kneel  to  you  all.  Botas,  I  kneel  to  you, 
too.  O  if  you  have  had  kind  fathers 
and  mothers  that  you  loved,  if  ever  you 
would  have  dear  husbands  to  protect 
you,  then  pity  me." 

She  rose  and  took  Botas'  hand  quite 
simply.  "Botas,  when  I  was  a  little 
girl  you  did  promise  me  a  gift  upon  my 
wedding-day.  I  ask  it  of  you  now  ;  it 
is  this  :  take  me  to  the  Cave  of  Love." 
93 


C|)e  Statue  in  tfjc  9Ur 


"  Leanira,"  stammered  Botas,  "  I  can 
not  ;  the  chorus  may  still  be  there,  and 
they  have  declared  —  Ah,  there,  there, 
that  is  enough !  Well,  then,  if  you 
will !  They  are  enraged  with  you." 

"Enraged?"  said  Leanira.  "Ah, 
no  wonder !  Every  one  should  be  en 
raged  with  me,  since  I  have  offended 
the  son  of  Eros.  Are  you  afraid  for 
me,  Botas  ?  I  am  not  afraid,  no ;  if 
they  were  angry  to  kill  me,  I  am  not 
afraid ;  I  am  not  afraid  of  the  whole 
world,  now  I  know  he  will  forgive  me. 
Why,  Botas,  do  you  suppose  he  would 
let  any  one  harm  us  ?  "  She  wept  with 
a  divine  gladness,  then  brushed  away 
the  tears.  Again  she  turned  to  the 
chorus  with  a  tender  majesty,  — a  sub 
lime  humility.  One  and  all  they  melted 
in  sobs  and  tears. 

"We  remain." 

Botas  placed  his  arm  about  Leanira 
to  support  her  onward.    From  orchards 
and  river-banks  and  radiant  meadows 
the  snow  had  vanished  like  a  dream. 
94 


BUT  already  Heliophanes,  guided  by 
the  shining  eagle,  had  reached  the  Cave 
of  Love  ;  had  threaded  his  way  hastily 
amid  the  prostrate  chorus,  and  breathed 
upon  the  son  of  Eros  with  god-inspired 
lips.  "I  come  with  message  of  the 
gods,  and  tidings  of  Leanira." 

Euphorion  started  to  his  knee  as  one 
rescued  by  a  prodigy  ;  his  breath  came 
in  a  deep  inspiration,  and  the  blood 
mounted  to  face  and  lips. 

"  Do  you  not  remember  me,  Eupho 
rion  ? —  Heliophanes?  Then  know  me 
by  this  god-given  token.  When  re 
cently  you  and  my  daughter  Leanira 
met,  your  love  created  a  statue  in  the 
air.  Here  was  the  crisis  ;  for  it  was 
through  this  accident  that  Eros  was 
enabled  to  tear  the  storm-cloud,  and 
Apollo  to  descend  and  declare  unto 
me  that  you  are  the  destined  slayer  of 
Troglodytes.  And  this  was  indeed  the 
fatal  day,  —  but  all  went  contrary  to  ex- 
95 


in  t{je  3Ut 


pectation.  For  the  dark  powers  gained 
this  very  critical  day  wherein  to  swerve 
the  stream  of  Fate,  although  they  could 
not  stem  it.  At  dawn  they  confused 
you  with  dreams ;  they  roused  the 
storm,  they  ripped  this  opening  behind 
the  cave,  and  poured  forth  floods 
of  chaos ;  the  terror  of  the  moment 
crazed  Leanira,  though,  believe  me, 
she  loves  you.  Have  no  fear  for  her ; 
Botas  has  rescued  and  will  guard  her. 
Why  are  you  dumb  ?  Do  you  not  be 
lieve  me  ?  O  Euphorion  !  now  is  the 
time  for  action.  Look  around,  —  a 
second  opening  into  the  Troglodyte 
Abyss." 

Euphorion  wheeled  about  :  he  saw 
the  yawning  darkness,  —  the  slime 
and  smoke  of  chaos  that  hung  in  a 
thick  web  from  the  roof  of  the  cave, 
or  wavered  in  a  heavy  fringe  about  its 
mouth ;  he  saw  the  clots  of  glutinous 
black  slime  that  polluted  the  fast  van 
ishing  snow. 

"  It  is !  it  is !  That  horrible  tem 
pest  !  My  Leanira  !  —  where  is  she  ? 
Take  me  to  her  now !  " 

"  Stop  !  Now  is  no  time  to  think  of 
96 


Cbc  Statue  in  tfcc  Sir 


Leanira ;  now  is  only  time  to  leap. 
Now,  quickly,  while  the  opening  lies 
before  you  unguarded.  And  look ! 
the  chorus  about  you,  —  should  they 
revive,  they  would  prevent  you." 

"O  Heliophanes,  you  are  a  man, 
not  a  monster;  certainly  you  have  a 
man's  heart; — you,  too,  have  loved! 
Imagine  what  it  were  to  you  if  in  all 
your  life  you  had  held  your  love  but  a 
moment  in  your  arms,  and  then  had 
lost  her.  Oh,  this  I  do  declare,  that 
this  morning  I  would  have  leaped  unhes 
itating  into  the  abyss  ;  but  then  I  had 
not  loved.  Think  what  I  ask.  One 
moment !  Heaven  is  not  brutal  to  deny 
me  that.  No  !  Heaven  is  gladdening 
the  smallest  clod,  is  warming  the  mean 
est  worm.  Shall  I  alone —  oh  torture! 
Take  me  to  Leanira.  One  embrace, 
one  kiss,  and  I  will  return,  and  I  will 
plunge  into  the  chasm,  and  I  will  strug 
gle  the  better  with  Troglodytes  for 
being  fired  through  her  love." 

"  O  God,  what  am  I  to  say  to  him  ? 

Love  has  made  him  mad.     Cannot  you 

see,  —  the   fatal   day   of    the    oracle  ? 

And  already  the  sun  is  sinking."  Heli- 

97 


Statue  in  tbr  3Lir 


ophanes  stopped,  suffocating.  He  re 
called  Euphorion  and  Leanira  as  they 
played  about  his  knee  ;  he  remembered 
how  he  had  raised  the  children  to  his 
heart  and  fed  them. 

Euphorion  was  speechless. 

Heliophanes,  controlling  himself, 
continued  :  "  If  an  enemy  were  in  the 
pass  of  your  native  valley,  and  you  the 
only  one  to  lead  your  people,  would 
you  delay  for  Leanira  ?  Remember, 
you  have  more  than  mortal  power, 

—  you  are  the  son  of  a  god." 

With  a  deep  sigh  Euphorion  an 
swered  :  "  I  am  the  son  of  a  god,  but  I 
am  also  mortal.  I  can  kill  Troglodytes 
in  accordance  with  Fate,  —  but  I  may 
never  return  out  of  the  abyss." 

Heliophanes  replied  :  "  Euphorion, 
we  rise  out  of  the  Shadow ;  we  return 
into  the  Shadow.  A  few  heroic  men 

—  and  surely  thou,  too  —  shall  rise  to 
immortality  with  the  gods." 

"Ah  Heaven!"  exclaimed  Eupho 
rion,  clenching  his  hand  with  a  bitter 
cry.  "  Do  not  mock  me  with  immor 
tality  !  That  without  her  would  be  an 
eternity  of  woe." 

98 


it  be  Statue  in  tljc  91  it 


Then  said  Heliophanes  solemnly : 
"  My  son,  I  spoke  this  only  to  test 
thee.  But  now  I  say :  Look  abroad  ; 
see  everywhere  desolation,  the  ruined 
homes.  See  the  chorus  at  thy  feet 
that  were  as  dead  men,  and  still  may  be 
dead,  and  consider  that  many  more  of 
thy  countrymen  lie  strewn  throughout 
the  valley,  all  these  helpless  beings 
depending  upon  thee.  Wouldst  thou 
seize  one  precious  second  of  thy  pri 
vate  happiness  at  the  risk  of  their  life 
and  freedom  ?  That  sacred  statue  that 
thy  love  created,  —  was  it  for  thee  and 
Leanira  alone  ?  No,  but  for  the  ful 
fillment  of  the  universal  oracle,  for  the 
salvation  of  the  whole  valley.  What 
thy  love,  then,  so  amply  prophesied  let 
thy  courage  equally  fulfill,  not  consid 
ering  thy  own  peculiar  life  and  joy,  but 
the  life  and  joy  of  all  thy  countrymen. 
Yet  thou  thyself  choose.  Thou  hast 
created ;  Fate  no  longer  binds  thee. 
Thou  art  free  to  descend,  thou  art  free 
to  go  to  Leanira.  But  first  listen  to 
the  tale  of  a  vision  that  has  come  over 
me  at  dawn. 

"  Far  westward  I  was  tossing  upon 
99 


Statue  in  t&e  3Ur 


a  vast  ocean  shored  by  a  continent  of 
myth  and  barbaric  pageant ;  and  might 
iest  of  all  the  myths,  one  told  how  ages 
ago  a  bridal  pair  had  yielded  their  lives 
to  save  their  country.  For  a  sea  mon 
ster  ravaged  it,  and  the  god  of  ocean, 
revealing  one  night  to  this  pair  that  with 
the  sacrifice  of  their  lives  the  plague 
should  be  arrested,  they  flung  them 
selves  side  by  side  into  the  black  enor 
mous  pe"ril  of  ocean.  Yet  did  they  win 
what  was  worthier  than  life,  worthier 
than  love  itself.  Still  to  the  people 
of  the  rescued  fatherland  reached  the 
memory  of  that  heroic  deed,  and  to  all 
generations  kindled  in  their  hearts  glori 
ous  impulses,  as  a  star  risen  is  reflected 
along  the  illimitable  waters.  And  that 
old  continent  of  myth  and  barbaric 
pageant  is  now  never  visited  save  by 
prophet  or  dreamer.  For  long  before 
our  earliest  recorded  events  were  even 
conceived  in  the  womb  of  eternity,  the 
ocean  engulfed  it  and  its  civilization 
vanished :  and  in  all  that  dissolution 
one  heroic  deed  remains. 

"  O  Euphorion,  the  widest  continents, 
the  greatest  nations  as  the  smallest,  are 

100 


Statue  in  t&e 


but  little  islands  thrown  up  out  of  the 
ocean  of  Time  and  Chaos.  There  we 
spring,  beautiful  plants  trembling  in 
the  wind,  and  the  seed  of  our  endeavor 
falls  in  a  narrow  space,  and  leaps  up  in 
flowers  fast  perishing  in  the  cold ;  or 
else  it  is  borne  by  the  tempest  over 
that  billow  where  no  root  strikes,  no 
flower  unfolds.  Happy  it  is  if  our  en 
deavor  take  brief  root  in  earth  ;  glorious 
it  is  if  our  endeavor,  awarded  us  by 
Fate  and  bitter  to  do,  be  worthy  of 
translation  to  heaven,  there  to  bloom 
as  an  eternal  star  to  guide  the  mariner, 
to  lift  up  in  inextinguishable  aspiration 
myriads  of  human  hearts. 

"  O  Euphorion,  hear  an  old  man  that 
has  struggled  hard  with  life,  and  is  now 
close  to  death.  Pleasure  vanishes  ;  Love 
perishes.  Only  one  thing  is  immor 
tally  beautiful,  —  to  do  the  deed  that 
Heaven  and  Destiny  have  laid  upon 
us." 

Euphorion  stood  looking  down.  The 
odor  of  the  thyme  that  grew  about  his 
home  overcame  him,  and  he  felt  Lea- 
nira's  arms  steal  tenderly  around  his 
neck.  He  drew  his  mantle  over  his 
101 


Statue  in  t&e  ai 


head,  that  Heliophanes  might  not  see 
the  anguish  in  his  face. 

Then  uncovering  his  head  and  turn 
ing  from  the  light,  he  beckoned  to 
Heliophanes.  Now  for  the  first  time, 
with  a  heart  touched  with  pity,  he  saw 
the  other's  blindness.  However,  he  said 
nothing,  but  taking  his  hand  led  him 
gently  into  the  cave  ;  and  so  the  two 
stood  close  to  the  rim  of  the  Endless 
Dark.  At  one  side  the  precipice  fell 
abruptly  ;  at  the  other,  Euphorion,  drop 
ping  his  sandals  and  feeling  with  his 
foot,  found  projections  in  the  irregular 
descent.  Then  he  received  from  the 
prophet  the  sacrificial  knife  and  the 
torch  sent  him  by  the  god :  thus  he 
threw  himself  over.  One  moment  his 
head  kindled  like  a  falling  star,  then 
darkness  swallowed  him. 

Heliophanes  leaned  against  the  rock 
in  exhaustion  of  grief,  his  hands  fell 
nerveless  by  his  side,  he  had  forgotten 
escape.  At  last  with  the  thought  of 
Leanira  he  began  all  trembling  to  gird 
himself. 

It  was  too  late  ;  the  chorus  had  risen 
to  their  feet. 

102 


THEY  stood  and  looked  at  one  an 
other  in  awe,  as  dead  men  might  if 
brought  to  life,  then  knelt  and  kissed 
the  warm  earth  with  tears  and  sobs, 
and  raised  hands  in  thanksgiving,  and 
rose  again,  and  stood  like  brothers, 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  or  arm  in  arm, 
looking  up  and  looking  down  the  valley. 
One  said :  "  The  snow  is  gone  ;  the 
ground  is  almost  dry.  In  this  air,  so 
warm  and  languid,  one  might  imagine 
the  grass  would  spring."  And  another  : 
"  Was  it  not,  then,  a  fearful  dream  that 
the  gods  abandoned  us,  and  that  Chaos 
broke  out  of  the  cave  and  overwhelmed 
us  ? "  "  No  dream,"  responded  the 
leader.  "For  look,  in  the  shadow  of 
the  cliff  are  two  or  three  clots  of  snow ; 
and  see  that  rill  of  black  slime  yet 
trickling  out  of  the  cave.  It  was  real 
ity  ;  but  is  this  the  day  we  fell  into  a 
swoon  ?  For  if  it  is,  then  gods  have 
been  at  work ;  that  avalanche  of  snow 
103 


Statue  in  t&e  3ttr 


is  melted  in  thin  air,  and  the  trees  seem 
ready  to  bud.     Are  we  all  here  ? " 

They  turned  and  examined  carefully, 
and  immediately  a  cry  arose,  "  Eupho- 
rion  is  gone  !  "  They  pressed  into  the 
cave,  and  one  of  the  foremost,  crying, 
"  Oh,  look!  "  lifted  Euphorion's  mantle 
from  the  very  lip  of  the  Troglodyte 
Abyss. 

Then  cried  the  leader,  with  sudden 
passionate  tears :  "  O  my  brothers,  do 
you  remember,  in  that  dreadful  climax 
when  the  horrors  of  the  chasm  broke 
out  upon  us,  do  you  remember  Eupho- 
rion  in  his  madness  repeated  the  words 
of  that  cursed  blasphemer,  imagining 
himself  a  Troglodyte-slayer  ?  O  God  ! 
he  must  have  crawled  in  here,  thinking 
to  slay  the  monster,  and  so  flung  him 
self  into  the  abyss  !  " 

"  Ah  !  ah  !  ah  !  "  wailed  the  chorus  ; 
and  like  an  echo  rose  from  behind  a 
rock  a  deep  groan. 

"  Can  it  be  his  ghost  that  mourns  ?  " 
whispered  the  weeping  chorus.  "  Be 
loved  Shade  !  Float  hither,  or  we  living 
shall  press  into  the  dark  of  Chaos  and 
strive  to  embrace  thee." 
104 


<Tbr  Statue  in  tfre 


"  No  shade,"  said  Heliophanes,  "  but 
one  who  can  give  you  true  tidings  of 
Euphorion." 

And  seeing  there  was  no  longer 
hope  for  concealment,  he  walked  reso 
lutely  forth.  And  dogging  his  steps 
came  Melanion,  whether  entered  by  the 
door  or  risen  out  of  the  abyss,  who  can 
tell  ? 

"  Heliophanes  !  "  exclaimed  the  elder 
leader.  "  What  miracle  brought  thee 
hither  ?  " 

"  A  miracle  indeed,"  answered  Helio 
phanes  solemnly ;  "the  most  glorious 
god  Apollo  has  appeared  to  me  in  per 
son  ;  he  saved  and  sent  me  hither." 

"  Oh  liar ! "  gasped  a  voice  behind 
him.  Melanion  limped  before  the 
chorus,  and,  all  trembling  as  he  was, 
and  wasted  with  inconceivable  anguish, 
yet  through  that  immortal  strain  in  his 
spirit  he  rallied. 

"O  you  men  of  Callithera,  guilty  as 
you  were,  the  gods  have  but  threat 
ened  you,  now  have  saved  you  from  an 
awful  death.  As  you  love  Heaven,  as 
you  would  show  gratitude  to  Heaven,  let 
the  first  act  of  this  your  new  life  be  the 
105 


Statue  in  t&e  air 


born  in  the  valley,  a  worshiper  of  the 
gods  "  — 

"And  I,"  declared  Heliophanes,  in 
his  passionate  voice,  "  fresh  from 
Apollo's  lips,  sent  to  this  cavern  " 

"  Hear  him  !  O,  what  a  gross,  pal 
pable  lie  !  Could  a  blind  man  find  his 
way  hither  unguided  ?  No  god,  but  I 
myself,  who  chained  him  to  the  spot  ;  I 
raised  and  bore  him  hither  through 
agents  of  my  magic,  and  finding  this 
opening  ripped,  I  thought  to  cast  in 
the  blasphemer,  and  so  to  appease 
Heaven"  — 

"  Thou  infamous  vomit  of  darkness ! " 

"  Silence  !  "  roared  the  chorus,  and 
the  elder  leader  added  :  "  We  alone 
shall  judge  of  the  truth.  Go  on,  Me- 
lanion." 

Melanion  continued,  vividly  imitat 
ing  every  action  :  "  In  creeps  Eupho- 
rion,  half  frozen.  I  drop  my  wand  thus  ; 
strip  off  his  sandals  and  chafe  his  feet. 
Suddenly  a  wild-beast  fury  smites 
Heliophanes,  the  raving  blindness  that 
Fate  casts  upon  the  blasphemer.  He 
tears  Euphorion  from  me  ;  hurls  him, 
so,  into  the  abyss  ;  then  pushes  me 
1 08 


€&e  Statue  in  tlje  2Ur 


over  ;  I  caught  upon  a  ledge ;  there 
clung  until  ye  entered,  when  through 
an  agony  of  effort  I  drew  myself  up. 
Look  !  Euphorion's  sandal,  — his  man 
tle  that  came  away  in  my  hand.  O, 
do  not  listen  to  him,  he  is  bewitching 
you,  full  of  a  desperate  cunning  to 
save  his  own  life.  Oh  !  God  and  the 
River  of  Fate  bear  witness,  I  speak 
truth  !  —  he  has  murdered  the  son  of 
Eros  !  " 

A  roar,  a  perfect  tumult,  arose 
among  the  chorus,  but  over  the  tumult 
the  voice  of  Heliophanes  :  — 

"For  the  love  of  the  gods,  for  the 
dread  of  the  furies  !  oh  will  you  lis 
ten  to  him,  and  Nature  stamps  his 
speech  a  monstrous  lie.  Hear  those 
hydra  hissings,  spit  out  for  words,  that 
shriek  no  human  throat  could  utter. 
Unnatural  birth  —  hybrid  —  not  a 
man  "  — 

"  Not  a  man  !  "  Melanion  stood  with 
the  green  foam  shaking  from  his  lips, 
and  his  eyes  fixed  upon  Heliophanes  in 
a  singular  yellow  stare.  The  chorus, 
ready  an  instant  before  to  rush  upon 
the  prophet,  now  stood  every  man  of 
109 


trtattte  in  t&e 


born  in  the  valley,  a  worshiper  of  the 
gods" 

"And  I,"  declared  Heliophanes,  in 
his  passionate  voice,  "  fresh  from 
Apollo's  lips,  sent  to  this  cavern  " 

"  Hear  him  !  O,  what  a  gross,  pal 
pable  lie  !  Could  a  blind  man  find  his 
way  hither  unguided  ?  No  god,  but  I 
myself,  who  chained  him  to  the  spot  ;  I 
raised  and  bore  him  hither  through 
agents  of  my  magic,  and  finding  this 
opening  ripped,  I  thought  to  cast  in 
the  blasphemer,  and  so  to  appease 
Heaven"  — 

"  Thou  infamous  vomit  of  darkness ! " 

"  Silence  !  "  roared  the  chorus,  and 
the  elder  leader  added  :  "  We  alone 
shall  judge  of  the  truth.  Go  on,  Me- 
lanion." 

Melanion  continued,  vividly  imitat 
ing  every  action  :  "  In  creeps  Eupho- 
rion,  half  frozen.  I  drop  my  wand  thus  ; 
strip  off  his  sandals  and  chafe  his  feet. 
Suddenly  a  wild-beast  fury  smites 
Heliophanes,  the  raving  blindness  that 
Fate  casts  upon  the  blasphemer.  He 
tears  Euphorion  from  me  ;  hurls  him, 
so,  into  the  abyss  ;  then  pushes  me 
108 


€f)e  Statue  in  tijc  3Ur 


over  ;  I  caught  upon  a  ledge ;  there 
clung  until  ye  entered,  when  through 
an  agony  of  effort  I  drew  myself  up. 
Look  !  Euphorion's  sandal,  — his  man 
tle  that  came  away  in  my  hand.  O, 
do  not  listen  to  him,  he  is  bewitching 
you,  full  of  a  desperate  cunning  to 
save  his  own  life.  Oh  !  God  and  the 
River  of  Fate  bear  witness,  I  speak 
truth !  —  he  has  murdered  the  son  of 
Eros  !  " 

A  roar,  a  perfect  tumult,  arose 
among  the  chorus,  but  over  the  tumult 
the  voice  of  Heliophanes  :  — 

"For  the  love  of  the  gods,  for  the 
dread  of  the  furies  !  oh  will  you  lis 
ten  to  him,  and  Nature  stamps  his 
speech  a  monstrous  lie.  Hear  those 
hydra  hissings,  spit  out  for  words,  that 
shriek  no  human  throat  could  utter. 
Unnatural  birth  —  hybrid  —  not  a 
man  "  — 

"  Not  a  man  !  "  Melanion  stood  with 
the  green  foam  shaking  from  his  lips, 
and  his  eyes  fixed  upon  Heliophanes  in 
a  singular  yellow  stare.  The  chorus, 
ready  an  instant  before  to  rush  upon 
the  prophet,  now  stood  every  man  of 
109 


Statue  in  tjjc  3Ut 


them  petrified  by  the  aspect  of  Mela- 
nion.  Foaming  in  a  convulsion  he 
cried  :  — 

"  Down  into  the  abyss,  — lies,  shame, 
oh  blasphemy  !  not  another  breath,  I 
say  !  not  a  moment,  I  say  !  O  you  lag 
gards,  you  blockheads,  where  are  your 
senses,  your  eyes,  your  hands  ?  Every 
minute  increases  your  peril.  I  tell  you 
the  gods  have  but  thrown  him  into  your 
hands  in  order  to  prove  your  loyalty. 
Again  they  withdraw,  —  hail,  snow, 
death,  darkness,  —  oh  instantly !  " 

"  Spare  to  pollute  through  death  the 
sanctuary  of  the  god  !  " 

"Through  death  it  is  already  pol 
luted,  —  through  the  death  of  Eupho- 
rion  !  " 

A  thundering  roar  dashed  up  from 
the  chorus,  and  over  it,  like  the  spurt 
ing  crest  of  a  wave,  the  shrieking  of 
Melanion  :  "  What  sacrifice,  what  ob 
lation,  what  perfume,  can  so  cleanse 
the  place  as  the  blood  of  this  blas 
phemer  ? " 

"  Silence  !  "  exclaimed  the  leader, 
stamping.  "  Thou,  Melanion,  be  quiet. 
Whatever  be  his  death,  let  it  be  laid 

IIO 


Statue  in  t&c  Sir 


upon   him   by   deliberate   justice,    not 
through  insane  passion." 

A  deep  silence  fell,  during  which  the 
leader  spoke  solemnly  :  — 

"  If  this  be  true,  this  that  Melanion 
speaks  of  thee,  then,  Heliophanes,  im 
mediate  death  is  thy  penalty.  Thou 
hast  been  guilty  of  the  most  horrible 
crimes  that  human  mind  can  imagine  ; 
thy  soul  deserves  an  eternity  of  torture. 
Yet  again,  if,  in  some  mysterious  way 
we  do  not  now  understand,  thou  art 
innocent,  then  the  gods  will  give  to 
thee  an  omen.  Therefore  justice 
awards  thee  one  moment  wherein  to 
humble  thyself  before  Heaven." 

Heliophanes,  lifting  his  eyes,  said  :  — 

"  Oh  ye  gods,  an  omen  !  " 

That  instant  Leanira,  followed  by 
Botas,  flew  into  the  cave.  She  ran 
straightway  to  her  father,  who  flung 
his  mantle  over  her,  endeavoring  to 
hide  her. 

"  An  omen,  an  omen  !  "  screamed 
Melanion.  "  At  the  very  moment 
Heaven  sends  the  blasphemer's  daugh 
ter  to  be  buried  alive  with  him  in  the 
abysm  !  " 

in 


<T be  Statue  in  tbr  &i 


"  Not  my  daughter,  —  Euphorion's 
wife!" 

Cries,  yells,  shouts  of  rage  and  scorn, 
burst  forth  from  the  chorus.  All  con 
trol  of  the  leader  over  them  was  now 
lost :  they  plunged  forward,  man  clam 
bering  past  man  in  fury  ;  a  man  of  huge 
frame  tore  away  Leanira,  and  whirled 
her  toward  the  abysm. 

"  Oh  father  !  "  she  cried. 

Then  it  was  as  in  dreams,  when  a 
myriad  of  voices,  of  prodigies,  leap 
through  the  space  of  a  heartbeat.  He- 
liophanes,  with  a  brusque  wrench,  was 
free  ;  had  leaped,  struck,  stunned  the 
man,  caught  his  daughter  in  his  arms. 
No  one  had  believed  an  old  man  so 
puissant ;  all  beheld  a  miracle  of  the 
gods.  In  vain  Melanion  stamped  ;  the 
chorus  wavered,  cries  above  cries  climb 
ing  as  sea  surges,  roar  upon  roar : 
swept  on  in  a  vertiginous  fury,  Mela 
nion,  a  bare  knife  in  his  hand,  plunged 
toward  Heliophanes,  but  within  a  pace 
halted,  paralyzed  with  fear.  Helio 
phanes  knelt ;  his  daughter  clung  to 
his  waist  unnoticed  ;  words,  incoherent 
112 


Statue  in  t&e  Sir 


words,  rushed  in  a  torrent  through  his 
lips. 

The  ecstasy  of  the  god  was  upon 
him. 

"  Gods !  "  the  whisper  ran  among  the 
chorus.  "  He  sees  !  " 

They  drew  apart,  bearing  one  an 
other  back  in  awe.  Heliophanes'  speech 
became  coherent. 

"  O,  I  see !  through  iron,  through 
stone,  through  darkness  denser  than 
stone,  blacker  than  iron,  —  horror  — 
oh !  Troglodytes !  he  leaps  through 
the  darkness  ;  earth  trembles  ;  he  grap 
ples  with  the  hero,  —  what !  he  has 
slipped,  he  has  fallen  !  No,  thank  God, 
once  more  to  his  feet ;  and  he  has 
grasped  the  brute  by  the  throat  — 
Merciful  Heaven !  the  monster  is 
wrenching  away  his  knife  !  Oh  gods  ! 
oh  gods  !  oh  gods !  the  black  blood  in 
a  fountain,  —  Troglodytes  is  dead  !  " 

Earth  shuddered  :  with  a  convulsion 
the  remaining  end  of  the  cavern  was 
ripped  away  ;  thunder  rolled  down  the 
clear  sky,  followed  by  the  cries  of  the 
chorus,  and  yet  trembling  in  the  shock 
"3 


Statue  in  tfje  Slit 


of  the  earthquake,  the  apple-boughs 
had  broken  into  flower  and  leaf. 

At  that  sight  Melanion  uttered  a 
long,  penetrating  wail.  He  fled  to  the 
end  of  the  cavern,  turned,  and  said  :  — 

"  Ah  !  no  being  in  heaven  or  earth 
has  known  what  I  have  suffered  !  " 

No  reply.  Only,  th%  earth-shaken 
verge  giving  way,  he  rolled  over, 
clutched  at  the  loose  fragments,  and 
plunged  down,  his  cries  swallowed  up 
in  the  dumb  blackness. 

Then  it  was  that  all  were  aware  of 
Another's  presence.  A  beautiful  youth 
poised  himself  upon  the  very  spot  where 
Melanion  had  fallen ;  yes,  upon  that 
trembling  verge,  that  could  sustain  no 
mortal  weight.  He  leaned  beckoning 
over  the  abysm  ;  all  his  limbs  exuded  a 
golden  light  that  pierced  deep  into  the 
darkness  ;  and  those  that  stood  nearest 
the  cleft  saw  Euphorion  climb  upward 
through  a  marvellous  illumination. 
Suddenly  the  god  stooped,  seized  and 
drew  into  the  cave  the  young  hero 
splashed  with  blood  and  slime,  and 
swooning  with  an  agony  more  hideous 
than  death;  he  held  his  son  close  em- 
114 


Statue  in  tjje  ai 


braced,  fluttering  his  pinions  in  such  an 
ecstasy,  that  they  at  last  dissolved  into  a 
golden  mist  ;  and  Eros  himself,  mouth, 
eyes,  and  limbs,  and  glorious  locks, 
melted  away  in  a  mist,  a  radiant  mist, 
that  rapt  Euphorion  from  the  eyes  of 
all  beholders.  Tenderly  the  cloud  stole 
into  the  air,  ftaving  the  son  of  Eros  pale, 
washed,  and  healed  of  all  his  wounds ; 
a  few  amber  drops  were  wept  from  his 
curls,  and  trickled  slowly  down  his 
naked  bosom.  Thus  for  a  moment  he 
stood  with  dazzled  eyes,  then  reeling 
forward,  outstretched  arms  to  seize  the 
victorious  godhood  that  had  melted 
from  their  grasp. 

Then  it  was  that  Leanira,  with  a  cry 
of  grief  and  terror  and  love,  buried  her 
self  in  his  arms. 

No  sound  was  heard  in  the  cave  ex 
cept  Euphorion' s  sighs  and  the  weep 
ing  of  Leanira. 

The  first  words  were  spoken  by 
Heliophanes.  He  had  risen  to  bless 
the  pair.  Turning  to  the  chorus,  he 
said  :  — 

"It  is  finished.     Hereafter  we  shall 
dwell  in  peace,  all  bitterness  past." 
US 


§>tattt*  in 


Then  said  the  leader  of  the  chorus  :  — 
"  Heliophanes,  I  speak  for  these 
whom  shame  strikes  dumb.  When 
blinded  by  Fate,  men  do  sometimes 
deeds  that  never  would  have  been  done 
out  of  their  own  hearts.  Pray  for  us  to 
the  eternal  gods." 

Heliophanes  replied  gently  :  — 
"  Think  no  more  of  that  which  you 
have  wrought  in  ignorance,  believing 
that  you  did  what  was  right  and  served 
the  gods.  Nor  let  any  bitter  grief  nor 
funeral  wailing  mar  your  thanksgiving  ; 
to  those  whom  Ocean  devoured  Heaven 
has  given  a  glorious  reward.  Feel  only 
joy,  my  children,  that  with  Earth's  con 
vulsion  the  path  to  Chaos  is  closed,  and 
with  it  is  buried  forever  our  shameful 
secret ;  or  if  it  rise  to  light,  yet  shall  it 
declare  that  the  beautiful  courage  in 
the  heart  of  man  has  overcome  Chaos." 
And  embracing  Botas  tenderly,  he 
said  :  "Heaven  has  given  our  valley  a 
faithful  son."  Then  turning  to  the 
chorus  :  — 

"  Know  ye,  every  one,  the  basis  of 
our   salvation.     This  morning  Eupho- 
rion  and  Leanira  chancing  in  the  pal- 
116 


Statue  in  t&e  Sir 


ace  upon  a  secret  chamber,  their  love 
created  a  statue  in  the  air.  Thus,  at  a 
critical  climax  and  in  a  very  strange 
manner,  was  the  oracle  fulfilled,  —  in 
the  hearts  of  two  lovers.  For  this 
united  soul  did  for  one  rapturous  instant 
embrace  all  humanity,  triumphant  over 
death.  Therefore,  having  echoed  God's 
own  thought,  Euphorion  saw  himself  in 
just  relation  to  his  fellows  ;  and  what 
deed  remained  he  fervently  accom 
plished.  Us  he  has  saved ;  and  for 
himself,  out  of  the  transitory  he  has 
builded  the  eternal  love.  Strife  is 
ended ;  labor,  happily  begun.  Freely 
now  we  form  that  one  humanity,  whose 
spirit  alone  is  of  enduring  worth,  whose 
perfect  image  is  Eros.  So  shall  these 
mountains  huge  and  savage  melt  into 
fertile  hills,  to  whose  summits  the  flocks 
shall  stray  ;  snow  shall  never  fall  on 
leaf  nor  flower  ;  and  for  our  people,  we 
shall  peacefully  decline  into  old  age, 
and  our  bodies  slumber  in  the  bosom 
of  our  mother,  but  our  souls  released 
shall  dwell  with  the  gods." 

To  Euphorion  and  Leanira  he  said  : 
"My  children,  before  this  daylight  is 
117 


Statue  tn  tlic  &i 


perished  out  of  heaven,  ye  shall  be 
married.  Ye  shall  be  married  before 
that  statue  that  your  love  created  in  the 
air." 

And  even  as  he  spoke,  the  fragrant 
world  was  alive  with  the  flutter  of  girl 
ish  voices  :  the  maiden  chorus  was 
flocking  up  the  escarpment.  At  the 
entrance  to  the  cave  they  knelt,  and, 
extending  the  Eros,  said  with  awe  :  — 

"  O  Heliophanes,  may  we  bear  it 
into  the  cave  ?  " 

Heliophanes  replied  :  "  Not  until  you 
first  bear  it  forward  to  greet  the  depart 
ing  day."  Then  addressing  the  aston 
ished  chorus : — 

"  Behold  the  deed  !  Ages  ago  God 
willed  that  Eros  dwell  in  the  chaotic 
ether,  and  the  unsculptured  void  took 
form.  So  now  once  more  he  has 
wrought,  not  through  divine  but 
through  human  agency ;  for  even  as 
Chaos  was  overwhelming  us,  Love  made 
form  to  rise  out  of  the  formless,  and 
hope  to  bourgeon  in  the  hopeless.  O 
let  us  forever  cherish  this  emblem  of 
an  harmony  that  vanquishes  Death, 
this  vision  of  Immortality  !  " 
118 


Statue  in  tljc  air 


These  last  words  had  become  very 
weak  and  broken ;  tears  rolled  down 
his  face  and  beard,  and  he  stretched  a 
trembling  hand  to  Botas.  A  signal 
perfectly  understood  by  the  maidens, 
for  they  turned  and  advanced  to  the 
rim  of  the  terrace.  The  younger  man 
reverently  supported  the  elder  out  of 
the  cavern ;  Euphorion  and  Leanira 
followed  :  last  of  all,  the  chorus  streamed 
out  into  the  glories  of  sunset. 

Behold,  the  breath  of  gods  had  ruf 
fled  all  the  valley  with  a  flower-caressing 
verdure ;  the  frozen  crowns  of  the  moun 
tains,  relapsing,  glided  down  gorges  of 
lapis-lazuli,  and  to  every  fruit-tree  clung 
the  delicately  blushing  snow  of  blossom. 
The  west  was  filled  with  the  triumph 
of  Heaven,  and  into  the  lake  formed 
along  the  valley  of  swiftly  dissolving 
snows,  the  sun  had  plunged  a  sword  to 
the  hilt. 

The  chorus  cried  out  in  joy  and 
amazement ;  they  tore  away  apple- 
boughs,  and  trailing  them  retired  in 
homage  to  Eros.  Then  circling  to 
greet  Apollo,  they  faced  the  west : 
Euphorion  and  Leanira  upon  the  marble 
119 


Statue  in  tlje  air 


stairway  ;  in  front  of  them,  the  maidens 
bearing  aloft  the  miraculous  statue ; 
Heliophanes  and  Botas  to  right  and 
left ;  to  rearward,  and  rising  up  the 
terrace  in  well-ordered  ranks,  the  cho 
rus,  —  all  shouting  a  paean  to  the 
golden  vault  of  Heaven,  and  to  the 
Sun,  that  momently  in  a  delicate  violet 
cloud  veiled  the  intolerable  splendor  of 
his  majesty. 

The  last  notes  dissolved  in  fragrance ; 
and  the  lovers  descending  before  the 
statue,  Heliophanes  joined  their  hands, 
and  in  a  few  broken  words  wedded 
them. 

Then  the  chorus  struck  earth  with 
their  spears.  "  Back  to  the  cave  !  Let 
us  enshrine  the  sacred  statue  that  was 
created  in  the  air." 

1 20 


THE  CHOICE  OF  BOOKS. 

BY 

FREDERIC  HARRISON. 
iSmo.    Cloth.    75  cents. 


"  Mr.  Harrison  is  an  able  and  conscientious  critic, 
a  good  logician,  and  a  clever  man;  his  faults  are 
superficial,  and  his  book  will  not  fail  to  be  valuable." 
—  N.Y.  Times. 

Mr.  JOHN  MORLEY,  in  his  speech  on  the  study  of 
literature,  at  the  Mansion  House,  26th  February, 
1887,  said:  — 

"  Those  who  are  curious  as  to  what  they  should 
read  in  the  region  of  pure  literature  will  do  well  to 
peruse  my  friend  Frederic  Harrison's  volume  called 
The  Choice  of  Books.  You  will  find  there  as  much 
wise  thought,  eloquently  and  brilliantly  put,  as  in 
any  volume  of  its  size." 

"  Mr.  Harrison  furnishes  a  valuable  contribution  to 
the  subject.  It  is  full  of  suggestiveness  and  shrewd 
analytical  criticism.  It  contains  the  fruits  of  wide 
reading  and  rich  research." — London  Times. 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY, 

66  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK. 


BY 

HIRAM  CORSON,  LL.D. 
iSmo.    Cloth.    75  cents. 


"A  most  interesting  volume."  —  Boston  Daily 
Advertiser. 

"The  book  is  replete  with  useful  suggestions, 
clearly  and  vigorously  expressed,  and  deserves  a 
wide  circulation."  —  Rochester  Post  Express. 

"Mr.  Corson  sets  forth  its  charms  so  eloquently 
that  his  book  should  not  be  overlooked  as  a  wise 
and  weighty  work  on  the  subject."  —  Philadelphia 
Public  Ledger. 

"  Educationalists  who  are  progressive  in  their 
ideas  should  not  fail  to  familiarize  themselves  with 
Professor  Corson's  suggestions;  and  in  every  family 
where  culture  is  an  aim  this  book  ought  to  be  a 
veritable  source  of  inspiration."  —  Boston  Beacon. 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY, 

66  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK. 


The  Aims  of  Literary  Study. 

BY 

HIRAM  CORSON,  LL.D. 
iSmo.     Cloth,  gilt.     75  cents. 


"A  book  whose  intimate  companionship  every 
literary  man  should  cultivate."  —  Boston  Budget. 

"  A  source  of  inspiration."  —  Boston  Beacon. 

"  If  a  copy  of  this  little  book  could  be  given  to 
every  teacher  of  English  in  the  land,  the  rising  gen 
eration  would  have  reason  to  be  thankful.  Never 
before,  perhaps,  was  the  idea  of  literary  education 
lifted  to  so  high  a  plane  and  so  successfully  carried 
over  from  the  realm  of  the  purely  intellectual  into 
the  region  of  the  spiritual.  Many  of  the  utterances 
have  the  precision  and  brilliancy  of  epigrams."  — 
Tk e  Evangelist. 

"A  mammoth  heap  of  information  in  a  nutshell." 
—  Cleveland  Gazette. 

"  It  is  written  in  a  clear,  logical  style,  and  also 
from  a  broad  and  comprehensive  knowledge.  The 
true  spirit  of  literature  and  the  right  way  of  esti 
mating  an  author's  worth  are  admirably  set  forth. 
The  aims  and  ideals  of  the  study  are  excellently  set 
forth,  and  what  is  more,  set  forth  in  a  clear,  broad, 
and  scholarly  manner."  —  Amherst  Student. 


THE  MACMILLAN   COMPANY, 

66  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK. 


The  Friendship  of   Nature. 

A   NEW  ENGLAND   CHRONICLE    OF 
BIRDS  AND  FLOWERS. 


iSmo.    Cloth,  gilt  top.    75  cents. 
Large  Paper  Edition,  with  Illustrations.    $3.00. 


"  A  charming  chronicle  it  is,  abounding  in  ex 
cellent  descriptions  and  interesting  comment."  — 
Chicago  Evening  Jottrnal. 

"  The  author  sees  and  vividly  describes  what  she 
sees.  But  more,  she  has  rare  insight  and  sees 
deeply,  and  the  most  precious  things  lie  deep."  — 
Boston  Daily  Advertiser. 

"  There  is  much  of  the  feeling  of  Henry  D.  Thor- 
eau  between  the  covers  of  this  book,  and  the  ex 
pression  is  characterized  by  a  poetic  appreciation  of 
the  value  of  word-combination  which  is  admirable." 
—  Philadelphia  Evening  Bulletin. 

"  A  delightful  little  book,  .  .  .  which  brings  one 
into  intimate  acquaintance  with  nature,  the  wild 
flowers,  the  fields,  and  the  brooks."  —  Springfield 
Union. 

"Thoroughly  delightful  reading."  —  Boston  Cour 
ier. 

"A  very  clever  little  book.  It  ...  takes  us 
through  a  New  England  year,  describing  the  birds, 
flowers,  and  woods  in  a  most  poetical  and  delight 
ful  mood."  —  Detroit  Free  Press. 


THE  MACMILLAN   COMPANY, 
66  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK. 


By  MRS.  JULIA  C.  R.  DORR. 


A  Cathedral  Pilgrimage. 

iSmo.    Cloth.    Each  volume  75  cents. 


"  These  sketches  of  English  travel  have  the  most 
delicate  appreciation  of  life  and  scenes  in  relation 
to  American  sentiment  and  feeling."  —  Boston  Globe. 

"  Her  prose  is  as  poetic  as  her  exquisite  verse. 
Her  sketches  have  the  calm,  serene  atmosphere  of 
the  scenes  they  celebrate."  —  Boston  Courier. 

"  Fresh,  original,  and  altogether  fascinating."  — 
Boston  Daily  Advertiser. 

"  The  light  and  delicate  manner  in  which  she 
treats  her  subject  makes  it  very  agreeable  reading." 

—  Cleveland  World. 

"  Written  in  the  easy  conversational  style  which 
compels  the  reader  to  realize  the  things  described." 

—  St.  Paul  Pioneer-Press. 

"These  are  simple,  picturesque,  cheery  records  of 
a  delightful  journey.  Far  from  affectation."  —  New 
York  Tribune. 

THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY, 

66  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


Form  L9-25m-8,'46(  9852)  444 


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THERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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